CJI to shift challenge to 2023 CEC appointment law to another Bench

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant connected Friday (March 20, 2026) expressed reluctance to proceed proceeding a bid of petitions challenging a instrumentality that replaced the Chief Justice of India with a Union Minister successful the enactment sheet for assignment of Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.

Chief Justice Kant said that arsenic the petitions challenging the Chief Election Commissioner and different Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service, and Term of Office) Act of 2023 subordinate to the bureau of the Chief Justice of India, helium would not similar a Supreme Court Bench headed by him to perceive the lawsuit arsenic that would apt exposure his bureau to disapproval of struggle of interest.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for 1 of the petitioners, Association for Democratic Reforms, suggested the lawsuit beryllium shifted to a Bench which did not person a prospective Chief Justice of India either arsenic the pb oregon subordinate judge.

Acknowledging Mr. Bhushan’s recommendation, the Chief Justice said, “I should people this substance to a Bench wherever the justice whitethorn not beryllium successful enactment to go the CJI. Then cipher tin accidental anything.” The Bench listed the lawsuit connected April 7 earlier an due Bench.

The petitioners argued that the 2023 instrumentality was introduced to dilute a Constitution Bench ruling delivered successful March 2023 successful Anoop Baranwal versus Union of India, which had included the Chief Justice of India arsenic a subordinate of the high-powered enactment committee progressive successful the appointments of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs).

The bony of contention is the validity of Section 7(1) of the statute. The proviso mandated that the President would name the CECs and ECs connected the proposal of a enactment committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition successful the Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet Minister to beryllium nominated by the Prime Minister. The statute, successful short, had replaced the CJI connected the enactment sheet with a Union Minister, giving the authorities an precocious manus successful appointments to the Election Commission of India.

The petitioners, including activistic Dr. Jaya Thakur, represented by advocator Varun Thakur, and advocator Kaleeswaram Raj, who represented an intervenor, had highlighted that the pivotal ineligible question successful the lawsuit was whether Parliament could circumvent a Constitution Bench judgement without giving explicit reasons for doing so.

Justice Kant had, connected an earlier occasion, orally observed that the trial regarding the validity of the 2023 Act would hinge connected whether the apex court’s authorization to pronounce binding decisions nether Article 141 of the Constitution could beryllium circumvented oregon diluted by a law.