The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its judgment on petitions challenging the 2023 law governing the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs).
The court will now decide whether the petitions should be referred to a five-judge bench for hearing.
Defending the law, the Centre argued that it would be wrong to assume the Prime Minister and Union ministers would act with bias or undermine democracy because they have a numerical majority in the selection committee.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma that if the Prime Minister’s decisions are not trusted, it would raise the question of whether he should also consult a former judge or an outsider while selecting his Cabinet.
‘This is not about trusting the Prime Minister’: Supreme Court
Responding to the Centre’s argument, Justice Dipankar Datta said the issue was not about whether the court trusted the Prime Minister.
He said the court had no reason to doubt the Prime Minister and pointed out that the Supreme Court had earlier trusted that people with criminal backgrounds would not be appointed as ministers.
Justice Datta said the real concern was ensuring that the Election Commission remains independent. He questioned whether the selection committee should also include members who clearly reflect impartiality.
He added that the present committee has a 2:1 composition, with two members from the government’s side and one from the opposition.
Dispute centres on removal of the CJI from the selection panel
The dispute relates to the 2023 law, which was passed by Parliament in December 2023 and received Presidential assent on 29 December 2023.
The petitioners argue that the law goes against the Supreme Court’s 2023 judgment, as it removes the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from the selection process for appointing the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.
Who is on the selection committee under the new law?
Under the 2023 law, the selection committee includes:
- The Prime Minister
- A Union Minister nominated by the Prime Minister
- The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, or the leader of the largest opposition party if there is no recognised Leader of the Opposition.
