NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its decision in the case concerning the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs), with the court now expected to decide whether petitions challenging the 2023 law governing their selection should be referred to a five-judge bench. Defending the law before the court, the Centre argued that it would be wrong to presume that the Prime Minister and a Union minister would act with “bad intentions” or against democracy simply because they hold a numerical majority in the selection committee. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre before a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma, questioned the argument that the Prime Minister’s role in the selection process should itself raise concerns. He asked whether, if the Prime Minister’s decision could not be trusted, a similar requirement would have to be introduced while choosing members of the Union Cabinet, requiring consultation with a former judge or an outside person.

Justice Datta responded that the issue before the court was not about whether the Prime Minister could be trusted. He said there was no question of the court refusing to place trust in the Prime Minister and recalled that the Supreme Court had previously expressed confidence that people with criminal backgrounds would not be inducted as ministers. The larger concern, the bench indicated, was the independence of the Election Commissioners and whether the composition of the selection committee should also visibly demonstrate impartiality. Justice Datta observed that the court was not saying the present committee had failed to achieve fairness, but pointed to the numerical structure of the panel — two members on the Prime Minister’s side and one representing the Opposition. The observations have brought the focus back to the composition of the selection committee and whether the process provides sufficient institutional safeguards while appointing officials who are expected to function independently while overseeing elections in the country.

The dispute centres on the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, which was passed by Parliament in December 2023 and received presidential assent on December 29 that year. Petitioners challenging the law have argued that it goes against the Supreme Court’s 2023 judgment because the Chief Justice of India was excluded from the process for appointing the CEC and Election Commissioners. Under the 2023 law, the selection committee consists of the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet minister nominated by the Prime Minister, and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. If there is no recognised Leader of Opposition, the leader of the largest Opposition party in the Lok Sabha becomes part of the panel. The controversy largely revolves around this change in the composition of the committee and the removal of the CJI from the appointment mechanism. With arguments now heard, the Supreme Court has reserved its decision on whether the challenge to the law requires consideration by a larger five-judge bench. The outcome will be closely watched because the case deals directly with the appointment mechanism for the Election Commission, one of the country's key constitutional institutions, and the broader question of how independence and visible impartiality should be maintained in the selection process.