Supreme Court has refused to stay the operation of Election Commissioners Act, 2023 and sought response from Centre in April. The Supreme Court has issued notice to Centre on pleas challenging the constitutionality of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, which dropped the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel of election commissioners.

SC refuses to stay new law on appointment of CEC, ECs; issues notice to Centre. The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the new law that provides for the appointment of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners by a panel excluding the Chief Justice of India.

However, a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta agreed to examine a batch of petitions challenging the new law and issued notice to the Centre. 

The bench asked senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for Congress leader Jaya Thakur, who sought a stay on the new law, to serve a copy of the petition to the Centre's counsel, PTI reported. 

“Please stay this law. This is against the separation of powers. No, without hearing the other side, we can't. We will issue a notice," Singh told the bench.

Several petitions, including Thakur's, have been filed in the apex court amid a political row over dropping the chief justice of India (CJI) from a panel empowered to choose the chief election commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners (ECs).

Advocate Gopal Singh has also moved the top court, seeking quashing of the new law that accords the central government sweeping powers to make appointments to the poll body, as per PTI reports. 

The plea filed by Singh has sought the apex court's direction to implement an "independent and transparent system of selection, constituting a neutral and independent selection committee for appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners (CEC and ECs)".

The new law states, "Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of a Selection Committee consisting of — (a) the Prime Minister — Chairperson; (b) the Leader of Opposition in the House of the People — Member; (c) a Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Prime Minister — Member."