Today, a petition was brought before the Supreme Court, urgently requesting a hearing to challenge the constitutionality of Section 7 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023.

The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) filed a petition seeking relief against a provision within the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023. This provision dictates the procedure for appointing the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners.

Today, Advocate on Record Prashant Bhushan, representing the non-profit organization, brought up the plea before the bench consisting of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Dipankar Datta, and Prashant Kumar Mishra. He requested the court to grant an urgent hearing. This development follows the recent resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel.

However, the bench led by Justice Khanna declined to immediately entertain the request, directing Bhushan to adhere to the proper procedure by submitting a mentioning slip. Justice Khanna stated, "Have you moved a mentioning slip? Otherwise, the registry objects. Move a mentioning slip and mention it tomorrow morning."

The petitioner's public interest litigation, filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, challenges Section 7 of the 2023 Act, alleging a violation of Article 14 and the basic features of the Constitution. This section delineates the appointment process, stipulating that the chief election commissioner and other election commissioners shall be appointed by the president upon the recommendation of a selection committee.

The committee comprises the Prime Minister as the chairperson, the Leader of Opposition in the House of the People as a member, and another member nominated by the Prime Minister from the Union Cabinet.

The crux of ADR's argument revolves around the contention that the 2023 Act overturns a previous constitution bench decision of the apex court in Anoop Baranwal (2023). In the Anoop Baranwal case, it was noted that entrusting the appointment of election commission members to the executive could pose a threat to the integrity of democracy and the facilitation of impartial and transparent elections.

Accordingly, the court had instructed that appointments to the positions of chief election commissioner and election commissioners must be made by the president following the advice provided by a committee composed of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India.

The petitioner argues that the 2023 Act replaces the Chief Justice of India in the selection committee with a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister. According to the petitioner, this alteration renders the selection process susceptible to manipulation, as the committee is perceived to be dominated and controlled by executive members.

During the previous hearing on February 13, the Supreme Court declined to halt the operation of Section 7 of the Act, citing a similar matter already pending before the court, scheduled for April 2024. The bench instructed that the current case be listed together with the pending matter in April.

Case Details: -Association for Democratic Reforms v. Union of India | Writ Petition (Civil) No. 87 of 2024