Editor's Pick | SC refuses to stay law on CEC, EC selection

The Supreme Court on Friday declined to stay a new law which brushed aside a top court judgment to include the Chief Justice of India as a member of the high-powered selection committee to appoint the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs). “How can we stay a statute?” Justice Sanjiv Khanna, leading a Bench comprising Justice Dipankar Datta, asked petitioner Jaya Thakur’s lawyers. The Bench, however, issued notice to the Union of India and listed the case for hearing in April. “The CEC and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 has diluted the Supreme Court judgment by replacing the Chief Justice of India with a Union Cabinet Minister,” Ms. Thakur, a Congress party leader, argued. Section 7 of the new law mandates the selection committee to consist of the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition or the leader of the largest Opposition party in the Lok Sabha. Section 8 allows the selection committee to regulate its own procedure in a transparent manner and consider persons other than those suggested by the search committees. Ms. Thakur’s petition argued that the exclusion of the CJI “nullified” the committee. “The Prime Minister and his nominee [Cabinet Minister] would always be the deciding factor,” the petition, filed through advocate Varun Thakur, said. “Institutions supporting constitutional democracy must have an independent mechanism for appointments of its heads and members… They are compromising free and fair elections with the exclusion of the Chief Justice of India from the committee… Justice should not only be done but seen to be done,” the petition said. Senior advocate Vikas Singh, for the petitioner, submitted that “the law is against the very concept of separation of powers.” In another petition, Gopal Singh asked the court to implement an “independent system of selection, constituting a neutral and independent selection committee for appointment” of the CEC and ECs. The plea sought the court to injunct the implementation of the Gazette notification of December 28, 2023 rolling out ‘The CEC and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act.’ The judgment had directed the appointment to the posts of CEC and the ECs to be done by the President on the basis of the advice tendered by a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and, in case, there is no such leader, the leader of the largest party in the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India. However, the new law laid down that the CEC and ECs would be appointed by the President on the recommendation of a selection committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Prime Minister. [logo] Editor's Pick 13 January 2024 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( SC refuses to stay law on CEC, EC selection The Supreme Court on Friday [declined to stay a new law]( which brushed aside a top court judgment to include the Chief Justice of India as a member of the high-powered selection committee to appoint the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs). “How can we stay a statute?” Justice Sanjiv Khanna, leading a Bench comprising Justice Dipankar Datta, asked petitioner Jaya Thakur’s lawyers. The Bench, however, issued notice to the Union of India and listed the case for hearing in April. “The CEC and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 has diluted the Supreme Court judgment by replacing the Chief Justice of India with a Union Cabinet Minister,” Ms. Thakur, a Congress party leader, argued. Section 7 of the new law mandates the selection committee to consist of the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition or the leader of the largest Opposition party in the Lok Sabha. Section 8 allows the selection committee to regulate its own procedure in a transparent manner and consider persons other than those suggested by the search committees. Ms. Thakur’s petition argued that the exclusion of the CJI “nullified” the committee. “The Prime Minister and his nominee [Cabinet Minister] would always be the deciding factor,” the petition, filed through advocate Varun Thakur, said. “Institutions supporting constitutional democracy must have an independent mechanism for appointments of its heads and members… They are compromising free and fair elections with the exclusion of the Chief Justice of India from the committee… Justice should not only be done but seen to be done,” the petition said. Senior advocate Vikas Singh, for the petitioner, submitted that “the law is against the very concept of separation of powers.” In another petition, Gopal Singh asked the court to implement an “independent system of selection, constituting a neutral and independent selection committee for appointment” of the CEC and ECs. The plea sought the court to injunct the implementation of the Gazette notification of December 28, 2023 rolling out ‘The CEC and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act.’ The judgment had directed the appointment to the posts of CEC and the ECs to be done by the President on the basis of the advice tendered by a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and, in case, there is no such leader, the leader of the largest party in the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India. However, the new law laid down that the CEC and ECs would be appointed by the President on the recommendation of a selection committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Prime Minister. 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