A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging a new law that regulates 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, passed by Parliament last month and approved by the President on December 29, 2023, allows the appointment of the CEC and Election Commissioners by a Selection Committee comprising the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha.
According to reports, the plea, submitted by Congress leader Dr. Jaya Thakur and Sanjay Narayanrao Meshram, argues that the law violates the principle of free and fair elections by not providing an "independent mechanism" for appointing ECI members. According to Bar and Bench, the petition also contends that the law contradicts a Supreme Court judgment in the case of Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India and others, as it excludes the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from the appointment process.
The March 2023 verdict mandated the appointment of ECI members based on the advice of a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the CJI, and the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha until a parliamentary law is enacted. The petition asserts that by excluding the CJI, the judgment is weakened, making the Prime Minister and their nominee the decisive factors in appointments.
"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, as quoted by Bar and Bench.
The specific challenge in the petition focuses on Sections 7 and 8 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, which outline the procedure for appointing ECI members.