A Congress leader has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the appointment of two Election Commissioners by the government which is expected later this week.
After the resignation of Arun Goel as election commissioner last week and the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey in February, the three-member Election Commission (EC) now only one member: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar.
A Congress leader from Madhya Pradesh has filed a petition citing a 2023 judgment to restrain the government from appointing new Election Commissioners. The Supreme Court on Monday said that it will consider submission for early listing of the petition. “Send an email. We will see,” said the bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwla and Manoj Misra.
The plea was mentioned for urgent listing by senior advocate Vikas Sigh and advocate Varun Thakur, appearing for the Congress leader Jaya Thakur. The local Congress leader has challenged the provisions of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and terms of office) Act, 2023.
According to the new law on appointment of CEC and ECs, a search committee headed by the law minister and comprising two union secretaries will shortlist five names.
Then a selection committee -- headed by the prime minister and comprising a Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the PM, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha or the leader of the single-largest opposition party in the House -- picks one name.
The CEC or EC then gets appointed by the President.
In a sudden move, Election Commissioner Arun Goel resigned from his post on Saturday, March 9, days before the expected announcement of the schedule for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
His tenure was till December 5, 2027, and he would have become Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) after incumbent Rajiv Kumar retired in February next year.
According to a law ministry notification, Goel's resignation has been accepted by President Droupadi Murmu with effect from Saturday. It was not immediately known why he stepped down.
Arun Goel, a retired bureaucrat, was a 1985-batch IAS officer of the Punjab cadre. He had joined the Election Commission in November 2022.
