NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Friday stepped aside from hearing a batch of petitions that question the constitutional validity of the 2023 law governing the appointment of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners, saying his presence on the bench could raise concerns of conflict of interest.“I will be accused of conflict of interest. There is a conflict of interest,” the CJI said at the beginning of the hearing, as quoted by PTI. He was part of a bench with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi.The petitions challenge provisions of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, which removed the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel for appointing the CEC and ECs. According to the petitioners, this change weakens the independence of the appointment process.The issue stems from a March 2023 ruling by a five-judge constitution bench, which held that the CEC and election commissioners should be appointed on the recommendation of a panel made up of the prime minister, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha and the chief justice of India. The court had said this arrangement would continue until Parliament brought in a law.Parliament later passed the 2023 law in December that year. Under this law, the selection committee includes the prime minister, a Union minister chosen by the prime minister, and the leader of Opposition, or the leader of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha.Several petitioners have challenged the law, including Congress leader Jaya Thakur and the Association for Democratic Reforms.While recusing himself, the CJI said the matter should go before a bench in which no judge is in line to become the chief justice. Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for one of the petitioners, agreed with the suggestion and said that would remove any possible impression of bias.“I personally don’t have any problem, but it can be listed before a bench not having a prospective CJI,” Bhushan said.The CJI then directed that the matter be listed before another bench on April 7 and indicated that the new bench would be made up of judges who are not in line to hold the office of the Chief Justice of India.The Centre has earlier defended the appointment of two new election commissioners under the 2023 law, arguing in the Supreme Court that the Election Commission’s independence does not depend on the inclusion of a judicial member in the selection committee.In an affidavit, the Union Law Ministry also rejected the petitioners’ allegation that the appointments made on March 14, 2024, were rushed through to “pre-empt” any order the apex court might pass the next day, when the petitions were scheduled to be heard on interim relief.The Supreme Court had earlier declined to stay the appointment of the new election commissioners under the 2023 law.
