Congress leader moves Supreme Court challenging exclusion of CJI in panel selecting Election Commissioners

A petition has been filed before the Supreme Court challenging the recently-enacted law to govern the appointment and service conditions of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and other Election Commissioners..The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 allows appointment to the posts of CEC and Election Commissioners by a Selection Committee comprising the Prime Minister (PM), a Union Cabinet Minister and the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha.It was passed by the parliament last month and received the assent of the President of India on December 29, 2023. The plea moved by Congress leader Dr. Jaya Thakur and Sanjay Narayanrao Meshram contends that the provisions of the enactment, are violative of the principle of free and fair elections since it does not provide an "independent mechanism" for appointment of the members of ECI..Pertinently, it also argues that the law is in violation of Supreme Court’s judgement in the case of Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India and ors as it excludes the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from the process of appointment of the members of Election Commission of India (ECI)In the March 2023 verdict, the top court had ordered that the appointment of members of the ECI be done on the advice of a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the CJI and the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, “till a law is made by the Parliament”..The petition states that by excluding the CJI from the process, the judgement of the Supreme Court stands diluted as the Prime Minister and his nominee will always be "the deciding factor" in the appointments.“This Hon’ble Court also settled the law in Dr. Jay Thakur Versus Union of India … that mandamus issued by this Hon’ble Court cannot be overruled by the legislature and separation of power is also the basic structure of the Constitution,” the plea contends.The petition in particular challenges Sections 7 and 8 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023. The provisions law down the procedure for the appointment of ECI members. "The functioning of the the Election Commission greatly determines the quality of governance and strength of democracy and in view of the great constitutional importance of the Election Commission, the fairness and transparency in the mode of the procedure of appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and its members becomes very crucial,” the petition argues.