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Hearing on the appointment of Election Commissioners in SC on February 12: The bench said- final decision will be taken on merit basis

New Delhi17 minutes ago

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In December 2023, the Central Government passed the bill and removed the CJI from the panel of appointment of Election Commissioner and included a Union Minister. The Congress worker has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against this.

The Supreme Court will hear the petitions challenging the constitutionality of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioner Act, 2023 on 12 February. A bench of Justices Suryakant and Justice N. Kotishwar Singh said that it would finally decide on the issue on the basis of merit. Earlier this hearing was to be held on 4 February.

In fact, in the January 8 hearing, the petitioners demanded a early hearing in the case. For this, on 18 February, due to the retirement of Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, the post being vacated was cited.

On this, Justice Suryakant had said that many cases are already in the list of hearing in January. It is better that the lawyer put this case again before them on 3 February, so that the hearing can be ensured on 4 February.

Justice Suryakant had said that the matter is a challenge to the law passed by Parliament. It may require detailed hearing. After this, its date was extended in the hearing held on 3 February.

CEC and EC appointment three -member panels

The hearing is associated with the historic decision of the Supreme Court on 2 March 2023, which said that CEC and EC will be appointed by a three -member panel. It will include the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

This decision was pronounced by a 5 -member bench of the Supreme Court. The bench also included CJI Sanjeev Khanna, who was the Supreme Court Justice at that time.

However, on 21 December 2023, the government passed a new bill, in which the Chief Justice was removed from the panel and it was decided to include a Union Minister selected by the Prime Minister.

Congress worker Jaya Thakur has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against this decision of the central government. Despite this dispute, the Center appointed Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu as Election Commissioner in March 2024.

On 14 March 2024, a three -member committee headed by the Prime Minister appointed former IAS officers Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Sandhu as Election Commissioners.

3 February: The bench said- a final decision will be taken on the basis of merit on the issue

At the 3rd February hearing, a bench of Justices Suryakant and Justice N. Kotishwar Singh said that it would decide on the issue on merit and finally.

The lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing by the Association for Democratic Reforms NGO, was listed on 4 February, but it is unlikely to be heard due to other cases.

He said- 2023 judgment said that the Election Commissioners can not only be appointed by the government, but can be done by the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition and an independent committee with the Chief Justice of India, if it is not so. This will be a threat to electoral democracy.

The Central Government has brought an Act under which he has removed the Chief Justice and appointed another minister, which has only depended on the appointment of the commissioners. The Constitution Bench has rightly said that it is against equal opportunity and our electoral democracy. You need an independent committee to appoint Election Commissioners.

Lawyer Varun Thakur, who appeared on behalf of the petitioner Congress Jaya Thakur, said that the Center has applied to direct that the Chief Election Commissioner should be appointed as per the decision of the Constitution Bench on March 2, 2023.

On behalf of the Center, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposed Bhushan’s plea and his request of interim order. Mehta said- Another bench of the Supreme Court refused to pass the interim order. The Center is ready for arguments in the case and the court can decide it for a final hearing.

Now know what is the whole matter …

2 March 2023: Supreme Court verdict- It is necessary to include CJI in the selection panel On the appointment of CEC and EC, the Supreme Court in its judgment said that a panel will appoint Election Commissioners. It will also include the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and CJI. Earlier, only the central government used to choose them.

This committee will recommend the names of CEC and EC to the President. After this the President will approve. Then they will be able to be appointed.

The court also said that this process will remain in force until the Parliament enacts a law regarding the appointment of Election Commissioners.

21 December 2023: New bill passed related to appointment of Election Commissioners in both houses of Parliament

The central government brought a new bill related to the appointment, service, conditions and duration of CEC and EC. Under this, the Election Commissioners will be appointed as a panel of three members. It will include the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a cabinet minister.

CJI was excluded from the panel. The bill passed in both houses during the winter session on 21 December 2023.

Opposition had objected to the new law Opposition parties said that the government is weakening it by bringing a bill against the order of the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court. Earlier, the Supreme Court had said in an order in March 2023 that CEC should be appointed as the President on the advice of the Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India and the Leader of Opposition.

New law violation of Supreme Court verdict Congress worker Jaya Thakur has alleged in his petition that Section 7 and 8 is a violation of the principle of independent and fair elections as it does not provide independent mechanism for the appointment of members of the Election Commission.

It has also been said in the petition that this law was made to reverse the Supreme Court’s March 2023 decision, which took away the powers of the Central Government to unilaterally appoint CEC and EC. This is the practice that has been going on since the independence of the country.

How many commissioners can be there in the Election Commission? No number has been fixed in the Constitution regarding how much the Election Commissioners can be. Article 324 (2) of the Constitution states that the Election Commission may have the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners. It depends on the President how much their number will be. After independence, the Election Commission had only the Chief Election Commissioner in the country.

On 16 October 1989, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s government appointed two more Election Commissioners. This made the Election Commission a multi-member body. These appointments were first made from the 9th general election. At that time it was said that this Chief Election Commissioner was done to cut off on RVS Perry Shastri.

On 2 January 1990, the VP Singh government amended the rules and again made the Election Commission a member body. On October 1, 1993, the PV Narasimha Rao government again approved the appointment of two more Election Commissioners through the ordinance. Since then, the Election Commission has two Election Commissioners with the Chief Election Commissioner.

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Read this news related to Supreme Court …

Petitions alleged by misuse of women laws dismissed: Supreme Court said- go to Parliament and raise these issues; The appeal sought protection for men

The Supreme Court refused to hear a petition related to women-centric laws and dismissed it. A bench of Justice BR Gawai and Justice of Justice told the petitioner that you can go to Parliament and lift all these grounds.

There are more news …

(Tagstotranslate) Chief Justice Sanjeev Khanna (T) Supreme Court (T) CEC EC Appointment Case

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Sonu Kumarhttp://newstiger.in
Stay up-to-date with Sonu Ji, who brings you fresh takes on breaking news, technology, and cultural trends. Committed to reliable reporting, Sonu Ji delivers stories that are both informative and engaging.

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