A petition was filed in the Supreme Court seeking an urgent hearing regarding the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners. However, Supreme Court Justice Dipankar Datta has flatly refused to hear the matter. He told the petitioner’s lawyer to present his request not here but before the Chief Justice of India (CJI), who would address the matter, and declined to hear the matter. Following this stance, the Chief Justice will now decide the further course of action in the case, and it will not be heard in the Supreme Court.
Petitions were filed in the Supreme Court challenging the 2023 law governing the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners. This committee comprises the Prime Minister, a Union Minister nominated by the Prime Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. When Rahul Gandhi joined, he even claimed he was not being heard, leading to controversy. Questions have been raised about the exclusion of the CJI from the selection committee under the new law.
A two-member Supreme Court bench issued differing opinions on this matter on September 23rd. Issues related to the constitutional validity of this law were presented before a bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma. During the hearing, the two judges’ opinions were not entirely unanimous. This disagreement led to the matter requiring further hearing.
What’s in the Petition?
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing the petitioner, mentioned an application before the court seeking the revocation of the earlier order.
During the hearing, Justice Dipankar Datta clarified that the composition of benches and which benches should be presented to which cases are within the Chief Justice’s administrative jurisdiction. Therefore, he directed the matter to be referred to the Chief Justice. He told the lawyer that it would be appropriate to discuss this matter with the Chief Justice for appropriate relief.
What will be the next step?
The next step in the matter will now be taken not by the court but at the Chief Justice’s level. The court stated that the CJI can decide how and in what manner the pending petitions and new applications will be heard, and before which bench. Meanwhile, the judicial challenge to the 2023 law relating to the appointment of the CEC and Election Commissioners will continue. Further hearings in the case will also involve the Supreme Court, which may examine the extent to which the appointment process complies with the democratic and institutional principles enshrined in the Constitution.
