The Supreme Court of India has scheduled a hearing for May 6 on a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of a law excluding the Chief Justice of India from the high-level committee for the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.
A bench of justices Dipankar Datta and Vipul M Pancholi listed the petitions for hearing after the matter was released by a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant last month, citing a possible 'conflict of interest' due to his position as CJI.
The petitions, filed by Association for Democratic Reforms and Congress leader Jaya Thakur among others, challenge the validity of the CEC and other ECs (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, which excludes CJI from the selection panel.
The petitioners claim that the law violates a Constitution bench decision in the Anoop Baranwal case (2023), which laid down that CEC and ECs will be selected by a high-level committee headed by the Prime Minister and comprising the CJI and the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
The apex court's judgment was to hold the field till Parliament enacted a law, but the 2023 Act replaced CJI in the committee with a cabinet minister to be nominated by the PM, giving the government a clear majority in selecting CEC and ECs.
The court has agreed to allot an entire day for hearing the petitioners and asked the Centre and the Election Commission of India to file any documents required for the hearing of the case.
