JAYA THAKUR Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order records reasons and decides the applications for stay of selection and appointment of the Election Commissioners For short, "EC", in the writ petitions filed under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, For short, "Constitution", inter alia, challenging the vires of Sec. 7(1) of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service, and Term of Office) Act, 2023. [For short, "2023 Act"]

(2.) The primary grounds of challenge are twofold. First, Sec. 7(1) of the 2023 Act dilutes, if not amends or modifies, the judgment of this Court's Constitution Bench in Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India, (2023) 6 SCC 161, by substituting the Chief Justice of India [For short, "CJI"] with a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister in the Selection Committee for the post of the Chief Election Commissioner [For short, "CEC"] and the ECs. Secondly, the provision has a direct and potential impact on the conduct of transparent, free and fair elections, one of the foundational requirements of democracy.

(3.) That apart, the selection process of the ECs, as adopted in the present case, has been challenged on the ground of procedural irregularity, affecting the fairness, transparency and objectivity in the selection process in question. The Leader of Opposition in the House of the People