New Delhi, September 23 (TNA) The Supreme Court on Wednesday delivered a split verdict on whether petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the 2023 law governing the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners should be referred to a larger Bench.
The two-judge Bench comprising Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma differed on the question of reference. With the judges not reaching a consensus, the matter is expected to be placed before the Chief Justice of India for further directions on the constitution of an appropriate Bench.
The petitions challenge the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023. The law replaced the earlier selection mechanism laid down by the Supreme Court and provides for a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet minister nominated by the Prime Minister.
The petitioners have argued that the exclusion of the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel undermines the independence of the Election Commission and violates constitutional principles. The Centre, however, has defended the legislation and opposed the request for reference to a larger Bench.
The issue before the Bench was limited to whether the petitions involved substantial questions of constitutional interpretation requiring consideration by a five-judge Constitution Bench. The court had earlier reserved its order after hearing arguments from the petitioners and the Union government.
The split verdict does not finally decide the constitutional validity of the 2023 law. The question of the law’s validity will be considered after the issue of the appropriate Bench is resolved.