Supreme Court refuses to stay appointments of two new Election Commissioners

Supreme Court refuses to stay controversial Election Commissioner appointments amid transparency concerns, raising questions about democracy's foundation.

The Supreme Court refused to stay the appointments of Election Commissioners (ECs) Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar on Friday even as petitioners argued that the hurry and lack of transparency shown by the government has sent a wrong message that the two retired IAS officers are “favourable” to the regime in power.

Appearing before a three-judge Bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna, the petitioners, represented by senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Vikas Singh and advocate Prashant Bhushan, said the two appointments were made on March 14 in accordance with a new law, the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act of 2023.

The 2023 Act bequeaths the government with the dominant role in the selection of ECs. The appointments of the new ECs were made while a challenge to the law was already pending in the Supreme Court, they argued.

However, the Bench was not impressed. It relied on a technical point that legislative enactments were not “normally” stayed.

“But this issue deals with the basic structure of the Constitution. Free and fair elections form the foundation of our democracy… There have been several occasions when this court has stayed the operation of a statute,” Mr. Singh urged.

“Maybe in exceptional circumstances…” Justice Khanna replied.

The court adjourned the case to March 22 while the Election Commission of India is expected to announce the Lok Sabha election dates this weekend. March 22 also happens to be the last working day before the court closes for Holi vacations.