Staying recent appointment of ECs would result in chaos, uncertainty: Supreme Court | India News

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed all applications seeking stay of appointment of election commissioners (ECs) and said that detailed reasons would follow in the formal order that would be passed. The SC repeatedly remarked that it cannot stay recent appointment of election commissioners (ECs) as it would result in chaos and uncertainty, with Lok Sabha elections round the corner.
The SC also said that Parliament has enacted a law and prim facie court cannot order fresh selection of ECs by a panel that included the chief justice of India (CJI).
Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said it may examine validity of the law presribing a panel of Prime Minister, union minister and leader of opposition for EC election, excluding the CJI as was suggested in a 2023 SC verdict, but staying appointments would disturb balance of convenience.
The SC bench faulted the government for the speed in which Search Committee shortlisted candidates and the speed with which two ECs were selected by Selection Committee. In such matters, process needs to be a little slow as each panel member must know background of candidates, it said.
The SC asked why the leader of opposition was not given four or five days to go through the credentials of shortlisted candidates. They said that they were not questioning credentials of the ECs selected, but on the procedure in which the selection was made.