The Supreme Court issued notice to the Centre and ECI on Manoj Jha's challenge to the immunity granted to election commissioners under the 2023 Act.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Centre and the Election Commission of India (ECI) on a fresh petition filed by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha challenging Section 16 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, which grants immunity to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs) from civil and criminal proceedings for actions taken in the discharge of their official duties.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi agreed to tag Jha's petition with two similar pleas already pending before the court. All the petitions are expected to listed and heard on December 18.

During the hearing, Justice Bagchi remarked on the increasing number of petitions challenging the provision, saying, "How many similar petitions are coming! There is no end to it."

Responding to the observation, the counsel appearing for Jha submitted that his was the only petition filed by a parliamentarian, while the other two pleas had been filed by non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

"This is the only one filed by a parliamentarian yet, the other two are by NGOs," the lawyer told the bench.

The apex court subsequently issued notice to the Centre and the ECI and directed that the fresh petition be tagged with the two existing matters.

SC Hearing On Immunity Granted To Election Commissioners

Section 16 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, provides protection to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and other Election Commissioners against civil and criminal proceedings for acts done or words spoken in the discharge of their official duties.

The provision has been challenged in two other petitions filed by NGOs Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Lok Prahari, which are already pending before the Supreme Court.

With Jha's plea now tagged with these petitions, the top court will consider the constitutional validity of the provision in the connected proceedings.