The Supreme Court
on Thursday dismissed applications seeking a stay on the appointment of two new
election commissioners, saying it would lead to "chaos" and
"uncertainty" as the elections are round the corner.
Observing that
the Election Commission is not under the "thumb of executive", the
apex court also refused to grant any interim stay on the operation of the Chief
Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions
of Service and Terms of Office) Act, 2023.
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 and posted the
matter for hearing on August 5.
"At the
stage, we cannot stay the legislation or suspend it operation. It would lead to
chaos and uncertainty and we cannot do it (stay) by way of an interim order.
There are no allegations against the new election commissioners," a bench
of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta told the petitioners who have
challenged the new law.
The petitioners
were also seeking a stay on the appointment of new election commissioners.
"We are
dismissing the applications for stay on the appointment," the bench said.
Observing that it
cannot be denied that election commissioners should be independent and fair,
the bench said polls have been held since Independence and the country has had
very good election commissioners in the past.
It noted that
earlier election commissioners were appointed by the executive and now, they
are being appointed under a law.
The top court
said the 2023 verdict of its constitution bench nowhere said there has to be a
member from the judiciary in the selection panel for appointment of election
commissioners in the new law.
It said the
intent of the 2023 verdict, which proposed a selection panel comprising the
prime minister, the Leader of Opposition and the Chief Justice of India, was
for a period till Parliament enacts a law.
The verdict was
intended to nudge Parliament to enact law as there was a "vacuum" and
it didn't say what kind of law should be made, the bench said.
During the
hearing, the bench questioned the Centre over the procedure adopted for
appointment of two new election commissioners.
It said the
selection committee should have been given more time to apply its mind on the
appointment of election commissioners.
"The search
committee for appointment of election commissioners should have been given a
fair share of time to understand the background of candidates," the bench
observed.
Retired IAS
officers Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu were recently appointed as
election commissioners.
The appointments
came ahead of the Lok Sabha polls starting on April 19.
Under the new
law, the selection panel has the prime minister as the chairperson, and the
leader of opposition and a Union minister nominated by the prime minister are
the two other members.
A five-judge
constitution bench had in March 2023 ruled that the Chief Election Commissioner
(CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs) shall be appointed on the advice of a
committee comprising the prime minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the
Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India.