Supreme Court Bench With No CJI Or Future CJI To Hear Plea Challenging Law On Election Commissioners' Appointment

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant today recused from hearing writ petitions against the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, which dropped the CJI from committee to appoint Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners.A bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice Vipul Pancholi indicated that the case will be placed before a bench in which no judge is in line to become CJI.The Court was hearing a batch of pleas challenging provisions of the Act which removed the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel appointing Election Commissioners (ECs).During the hearing today, the CJI expressed apprehension of a conflict of interest if he hears the case. Advocate Prashant Bhushan for the petitioners suggested that the case should go before some other bench."Probably, in my view, it will be best if it is sent to a bench which does not have a prospective Chief Justice", Bhushan said, pointing out that both Justice Bagchi and Justice Pancholi are also in line to become CJI.CJI Kant responded, "I should mark this matter to a bench where the judge may not be in line to become CJI. Then nobody can say anything." The Court listed the matter on April 7, 2026, before a bench to be separately earmarked.The Election Commissioners' Act was passed by the Parliament in December 2023, few months after the Supreme Court in March 2023 ruled that ECs should be appointed by a panel comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition and the Chief Justice of India till a law is enacted. The Court passed this direction to ensure that the ECs are appointed in an independent manner, free of influence by the executive. The Court had clarified that its judgment will operate till Parliament enacts a law governing appointments of ECs.According to the Act, Election Commissioners are selected by a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition or the leader of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha.The enactment of the Election Commissioners' Act triggered a cascade of litigation, with Congress leader Jaya Thakur, the Association for Democratic Reforms, and others approaching the apex court.Case no. - W.P.(C) No. 14/2024 Diary No. 146 / 2024 and connected casesCase Title - Dr. Jaya Thakur v. Union of India and connected cases

Supreme Court Bench With No CJI Or Future CJI To Hear Plea Challenging Law On Election Commissioners' Appointment

Amisha Shrivastava

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