SC to Hear Pleas Against CEC, EC Appointments Under 2023 Law on Feb 19

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 12th Feb. The Supreme Court will hear petitions challenging the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners under the 2023 law on February 19. The decision comes just a day after the scheduled retirement of current CEC Rajiv Kumar on February 18.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh, while scheduling the hearing, remarked that “if anything happens in between, the consequences are bound to follow.”

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing NGO ‘Association for Democratic Reforms’, informed the court that the matter was initially listed for hearing on Wednesday but was postponed due to Justice Kant’s health issues. He argued that the urgency stemmed from the possibility of the government appointing a new CEC under the contested 2023 law.

The 2023 legislation gives the Centre greater control over the selection process, replacing the Chief Justice of India with a Union Cabinet Minister in the Selection Committee, which also includes the Prime Minister and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The change has drawn criticism, with opponents arguing that it compromises the neutrality of the Election Commission.

Under the new rule, retired bureaucrats Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu were appointed as Election Commissioners ahead of last year’s Lok Sabha elections.