New Delhi: As the Lok Sabha polls approach, the Supreme Court declined to grant a stay on the law appointing election commissioners, noting that doing so now would be "creating chaos."
"You cannot say that the Election Commission is under the thumb of the executive. At this stage, we cannot stay the legislation, and it will lead to only chaos and uncertainty," the bench said while hearing pleas seeking a stay on the new law.
Last year, the Parliament passed the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023, which was thereafter signed into law by the President.
The new law put Union Cabinet minister in place of the Chief Justice of India on the committee that chooses election commissioners. This raised concerns about the committee's impartiality because it now includes the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet minister, and the Leader of the Opposition.
In the wake of the panel's selection of Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu last week, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, stated that he had received 212 names for review the night before and a shortlist of six names before the meeting.
The Congress leader had said, "The Chief Justice of India should have been on this committee," which comprised of PM Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Mr Chowdhury. He also added that the new law had reduced the meeting to just a "formality” according to NDTV report.
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