The government followed a new law (December 2023) to appoint the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (EC), which is under challenge in the Supreme Court.
The Court delayed hearing the case and may review the law's validity, as it may contradict a 2022 verdict about the selection committee's composition.
The 2023 law includes a Union Minister in the selection committee, instead of the Chief Justice of India (CJI), which was in the 2022 verdict.
The government claims the 2022 committee was temporary, and Parliament was supposed to make a permanent law for appointments.
Critics argue that the executive’s influence over the selection makes the ECI less independent and undermines public trust.
The Court has been slow to intervene, allowing controversial appointments to proceed, weakening the ECI's perceived independence.
The Court needs to quickly decide if the new law ensures the necessary independence for the ECI as intended by the Constitution Bench.
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