Election Commissioners' Appointment: No stay by Supreme Court; hearing deferred till next week

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 or pass any order with respect to the latest appointment of two new Election Commissioners by the Central government [Dr Jaya Thakur and Ors vs Union of India and Anr]..A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih said that the Court could not stay legislations by way of interim orders but agreed that the Central government will have to respond to the issue raised in the plea regarding exclusion of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from the selection panel which appoints the ECs.."We do not stay legislations by way of interim orders. Yes this is something they have to answer," Justice Khanna remarked..The bench was hearing a challenge to the recently-enacted law to govern the appointment and service conditions of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and other Election Commissioners.The law has been challenged on the ground that it runs contrary to the direction issued by the top court in its judgment in the case of Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India and ors, which had called for the inclusion of the CJI in the appointment process.While the Court had said in the Anoop Baranwal judgment that the panel should comprise the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition and the CJI, the law provides for a cabinet minister as the member instead of CJI. Congress leader Dr. Jaya Thakur and others moved petitions before the top court against the same.In January this year, the Supreme Court sought the response of the Central government and the Election Commission of India (ECI) in the matter.However, it twice refused to stay the law.Meanwhile, Election Commissioner Arun Goel recently resigned after which the petitioners sought urgent hearing of the case before the top court and also said that the new law should not be used to fill up vacancies.The selection panel, however, met and appointed former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Officers Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar as Election Commissioners on Thursday. .When the case was taken up today, Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for Jaya Thakur, underlined that an ordinance promulgated by the Central government earlier, which was similar to the newly enacted legislation, was stayed by the Court for transgressing its judgment in Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India and Ors.He pointed out that as per the judgment, the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and the CJI have to be part of the selection committee for election commissioners until a law was enacted. "Now if they brought someone as independent and credible as the CJI then ok. But here it is a cabinet minister," he added..The Court, however, refused to stay the law and listed the matter for hearing on March 21, Thursday.