Supreme Court Split on CEC Appointment Law Reference

NEW DELHI:

Supreme Court Split on CEC Appointment Law Reference

The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave a split verdict on whether pleas challenging the 2023 law excluding the CJI from the CEC and Election Commissioners selection panel should be referred to a larger Constitution Bench for effective and authoritative adjudication.

A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma, which heard the matter for five days, differed in opinion and referred the case administratively to CJI Surya Kant to constitute an appropriate bench for an effective and authoritative adjudication.

The bench also urged CJI Surya Kant to explore setting up a permanent five-judge Constitution Bench for deciding seminal constitutional questions, aiming to ensure timely, consistent adjudication of significant legal matters affecting India's democratic institutions and electoral process across the country.

Justice Datta rejected referring the plea to a larger bench, holding that free and fair elections as a basic constitutional feature had already been settled by earlier rulings. Justice Sharma disagreed, holding that the specific challenge to the CEC appointment law raised an unresolved constitutional question under Article 145, and that only the CJI could constitute a bench of appropriate strength. Both judges agreed a further reference to a three-judge bench would only delay resolving the core issue.