New Delhi, 8 January (H.S.): The Supreme Court will now hear the matter of appointment of Election Commissioners on February 4. Today, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing on behalf of the petitioner, said that the Chief Election Commissioner is being appointed on February 18 and a new appointment is needed, so this petition should be heard.

During the hearing, senior advocate Gopal Shankarnarayanan said that the decision of the Constitution Bench stated that the executive cannot control this issue. Then the court fixed the date of hearing on February 4 and said that the real test here is between the opinion of the court and the right of the legislature. Petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court demanding a stay on the Central Government's law to abolish the role of the Chief Justice in the appointment of Election Commissioners.

Apart from petitioner Jaya Thakur, a petition has been filed by ADR. In the petition, a demand has also been made to include the Chief Justice in the selection committee. Some lawyers practicing in the Supreme Court have also filed a petition on this matter. In the petition, challenging the new law brought by the Central Government after the decision of the Supreme Court, a demand has been made to include the Chief Justice of the country in the panel for the appointment of Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners. The petition states that in view of bringing transparency in the elections, it is necessary to include the Chief Justice in the panel appointing the Chief Election Commissioner.

In fact, the Supreme Court had said in one of its decisions on March 2, 2023 that the Chief Justice would also be included in the panel appointing the Chief Election Commissioner. After this, the Central Government made a new law on this decision and included a cabinet minister of the government instead of the Chief Justice in the appointment process.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar