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Election Commission of India faces Supreme Court scrutiny over appointment law
The Election Commission of India is facing significant legal and internal scrutiny. In the Supreme Court, a two-judge bench has referred the challenge to the 2023 law governing the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners to the Chief Justice. The justices, Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma, held differing views on whether the matter should be sent to a five-judge Constitution Bench, but agreed on the necessity of referring it to the Chief Justice to avoid delays.
The 2023 law has been criticized for replacing the Chief Justice of India with a Union Cabinet Minister in the selection committee, which now consists of the Prime Minister, a Cabinet Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition. This shift has raised concerns regarding the independence of the commission.
Internal friction has also surfaced, with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi reportedly raising objections at least 14 times over the past 10 months regarding decisions made without their consent, including matters related to voter registration and database management.
Additionally, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed seeking a criminal investigation into CEC Gyanesh Kumar, alleging unauthorized changes to voter lists and technical failures. Separately, former Kerala Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac has raised allegations against Kumar concerning a 2006 suicide case involving a Malaysian official during a road project in Kerala.
Entities
Dipankar Datta · Election Commission of India · Gyanesh Kumar · Satish Chandra Sharma · Supreme Court of India · T. M. Thomas Isaac
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a police investigation and criminal prosecution of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. hindi.webdunia.com
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The selection committee under the 2023 law consists of the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. www.agniban.com
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Former Kerala Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac raised allegations against Gyanesh Kumar concerning a 2006 suicide case involving a Malaysian official during a World Bank-funded road project. www.kannadaprabha.com
- [● 2 SOURCES] Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma held differing opinions on whether the appointment law should be referred to a five-judge Constitution Bench. www.agniban.com · www.varthabharati.in
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded objections to Commission decisions at least 14 times over the last 10 months. www.agniban.com
- [● 2 SOURCES] The 2023 law for appointing the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners excludes the Chief Justice of India from the selection committee. www.agniban.com · www.varthabharati.in
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The petition alleges unauthorized changes to voter lists, including the imposition of mandatory ancestral conditions for new voters, and technical software failures. hindi.webdunia.com