SC rejects plea seeking stay on new Election Commissioners' appointment

The Supreme Court on Thursday again refused to order a stay on the law to appoint election commissioners, saying doing so now before the start of the Lok Sabha elections will amount to "creating chaos".

The top court also noted that there are no allegations against the newly appointed election commissioners – IAS officers Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu.

Kumar and Sandhu were chosen after changes were brought about to the selection panel under a new law that excluded the chief justice from the selection panel.

Kumar and Sandhu were appointed after the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey on February 14 and the sudden resignation of Arun Goel.

Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said: “You can't say the Election Commission is under the thumb of the Executive.” The judges added: “Normally and generally, we do not stay a law by way of an interim order.”

Stating that it can’t be presumed that the Centre’s new law was wrong, the bench said: "There are no allegations against the persons who have been appointed...Elections are around the corner. Balance of convenience is very important."

The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023, was passed by parliament.

The new law replaced the Chief Justice of India with a Union minister on a committee to pick the election commissioners. The committee now has the prime minister, a cabinet minister and the Leader of the Opposition, raising concerns over its impartiality.

Senior advocate Vikas Singh, who appeared on behalf of petitioner Jaya Thakur, contended that there was a clear-cut transgression in the new law.