Supreme Court (again) refuses to stay new law on appointment of Election Commissioners

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, for the second time in recent weeks, refused to stay the new law governing the appointment of Election Commissioners [Association for Democratic Reforms v. Union of India]..A Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta stated that it cannot issue an interim stay at this stage.It proceeded to issue notice to the Central government on the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) challenging the new law, which effectively gives primacy to the executive when it comes to appointing Election Commissioners.Counsel for ADR Advocate Prashant Bhushan argued on the need for a stay in view of one of the Election Commissioners retiring soon, as well as the impending Lok Sabha elections. He said that the case would become infructuous if the Court declined to stay the new law. However, Justice Khanna remarked,"We cannot issue interim stay like this. Constitutional validity matters are never infructuous.".Last month, the Court issued notice to the Central government and the Election Commission of India (ECI) on a petition filed by Congress leader Dr Jaya Thakur challenging the recently-enacted law.It had refused to stay the matter even then..The law is titled the Chief Election Commissioner [CEC] and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023. It 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.Thakur in her plea contended 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 the ECI.Pertinently, she argues that the law is in violation of Supreme Court’s judgment in the case of Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India and ors, as it excludes the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from the appointment process..The Court today tagged ADR's PIL with Thakur's petition, and adjourned the case till April.