The Supreme Court
on Friday refused to stay the appointments of new election commissioners (ECs) under
a 2023 law that excluded the chief justice of India from the selection panel.
A bench of
justices Sanjiv Khanna, Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih told the
petitioners, who pointed out that a meeting for the selection of ECs was
pre-poned, to file a separate application pointing out the fact.
Refusing to stay
the appointments made in accordance with the 2023 law, the bench said,
"Normally and generally, we do not stay a law by way of an interim
order."
It deferred the
hearing on a batch of pleas challenging the appointment of two ECs under the
2023 law.
Senior advocate
Vikas Singh, appearing in the court on behalf of petitioner Jaya Thakur, said
when a judgment is passed, there cannot be any transgression.
He contended that
there was a clear-cut transgression in the Chief Election Commissioner and
other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of
Office) Act, 2023.
Former Indian
Administrative Service (IAS) officers Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Sandhu were
appointed as election commissioners on Thursday. They were selected by a panel
chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The two vacancies
in the Election Commission had arisen after the retirement of Anup Chandra
Pandey on February 14 and the sudden resignation of Arun Goel.