Chief Justice recuses self from pleas against law on appointment of poll officers
Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on Tuesday recused himself from hearing pleas challenging the validity of the law which dropped the Chief Justice from the panel to appoint the Chief Election Commissioner and other election commissioners.
The Chief Justice, who was on the bench with Justice Sanjay Kumar, told the advocates appearing for the petitioners that he couldn’t hear the plea. “List the matter before a bench of which I am not a part of,” he said.
He stated that the case would be reassigned to a different bench, excluding the Chief Justice, and it would be heard after the winter break. The Chief Justice also directed the Centre and others to file responses to the petition during that period.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan and lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners, said that the previous bench headed by Justice Khanna, who had not yet been elevated as the Chief Justice, had passed interim orders in the matter back in March.
Notably, the Election Commissioners’ Act, passed in December 2023, excluded the Chief Justice of India from the panel to appoint the chief election commissioner (CEC) and other election commissioners. The appointment panel now consists of the Prime Minister, a Cabinet Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.