SC fixes April 16 for hearing pleas against appointment of CEC, ECs under 2023 law

Supreme Court on Wednesday fixed April 16 for hearing a batch of pleas challenging the appointment of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners (EC) under the 2023 law. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh fixed the date for hearing the pleas after advocate Prashant Bhushan said the matter is listed at number 38 and is not likely to reach for hearing during the course of the day.
Bhushan requested an urgent hearing of the matter, saying it goes to the root of democracy and the issue is covered by the 2023 Constitution bench verdict.
Justice Kant said the court understands all these arguments but a lot of urgent matters are listed every day.
«We will fix it on April 16, so that the matter is finally heard,» the bench said.
Bhushan, appearing for petitioner NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, said the matter involved a short legal question — whether the 2023 Constitution bench verdict should be followed for the appointment of the CEC and ECs through a panel involving the prime minister, Leader of Opposition and the Chief Justice of India or the 2023 law, which excludes the CJI from the panel.

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On February 18, the top court said it would take up on «priority basis» the pleas against the appointments of the CEC and ECs under the 2023 law.
Bhushan said the government, by appointing the new CEC and EC under the 2023 law, was making a «mockery of democracy».
On February 17, the government appointed EC Gyanesh Kumar as the next CEC.
Kumar is the first CEC to be appointed under the new law and his term would run till January 26, 2029, days before the EC is expected to announce the schedule of the next Lok Sabha election.
Vivek Joshi, a 1989-batch Haryana-cadre IAS