SC refuses to stay appointment of new EC members

Questions govt over the procedure

“AT THIS STAGE, WE CANNOT STAY THE LEGISLATION OR PUT IT UNDER SUSPENSION BY WAY OF INTERIM ORDER. IT WOULD LEAD TO UNCERTAINTY AND CHAOS IN CASE OF STAY" SUPREME COURT

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to stay the appointment of new election commissioners (ECS) Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, saying that doing so would lead to “chaos and uncertainty” as the Lok Sabha elections are round the corner.

Observing that the Election Commission is not under the “thumb of executive”, the apex court refused to grant an interim stay on the operation of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Terms of Office) Act, 2023.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said, “At this stage, we cannot stay the legislation or put it under suspension by way of interim order. It would lead to uncertainty and chaos in case of stay." The top court said it will examine the main petitions challenging the validity of the 2023 Act and asked the Centre to file its response within six weeks.

“They have been appointed and elections are round the corner. The balance of convenience is a very important factor. We have to see what the effect is if we do it, what are the consequences which will follow. One-member commission or three-member commission... plus, there are no allegations against the new election commissioners per se,” the bench told the petitioners who have challenged their appointment.

The top court was hearing a batch of pleas, including those filed by Congress leader Jaya Thakur and NGO ’Association for Democratic Reforms’, who sought a stay on the appointment of the new election commissioners and challenged the validity of the 2023 law which excluded the Chief Justice of India from the Selection Committee meant to pick the new ECS and the CEC.

“We are dismissing the applications for stay on the appointment,” the bench said.

During the hearing, the bench questioned the haste with which the Centre went ahead with the appointment of the two new election commissioners.