One plea by Election Commission of India seeks modification of the March 11 order in the electoral bonds case. The other by election watchdog ADR challenges the exclusion of the Chief Justice of India from a panel for the selection of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners.
The Supreme Court will hear two important cases on Friday.
One is an application filed by the Election Commission of India seeking modification of the March 11 order in the electoral bonds case. The other case filed by election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) challenges the exclusion of the Chief Justice of India from a panel for the selection of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners.
ECI on Electoral Bonds
In the first case the ECI, according to legal news website LiveLaw, has requested the Supreme Court to return to it the documents in sealed cover that it had submitted in the Electoral Bond case. The poll body said it has not retained any copies of the documents to maintain confidentiality.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday uploaded the electoral bonds data on its website as per the orders of the Supreme Court (SC).
#BREAKING #SupremeCourt Constitution Bench which decided the #ElectoralBonds case to hold a sitting tomorrow to hear an application filed by the #ElectionCommisisonofIndia pic.twitter.com/D5MC6PTFO9
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) March 14, 2024
Restrain government from appointing ECs, CEC
In the second petition, ADR has requested the top court to restrain Union government from appointing the new election commissioner under the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment Conditions of Service and Terms of Office) Act, 2023.
The Act dropped Chief Justice of India from the selection panel which also comprises the Prime Minister and the Leader of Opposition, triggering uproar among the Opposition members and drawing attention to the March 2023 Supreme Court ruling.
In the order, the top court had ruled that the appointment of CEC and ECs shall be made by the President on the basis of advice tendered by a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha or leader of the largest Opposition party in the House, and the CJI.
President Droupadi Murmu on March 14 appointed retired IAS officers Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu as the new Election Commissioners. The two names were picked by the panel chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that met here in the national capital earlier in the day.
