SUPREME COURT DELIVERS SPLIT VERDICT ON LAW GOVERNING CEC AND EC APPOINTMENTS

September 23, 2026

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday delivered a split verdict on whether petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the 2023 law governing the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs) should be referred to a five-judge Constitution Bench. The matter has now been placed before the Chief Justice of India for administrative consideration.

The two-judge bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and S.C. Sharma differed on the proposed reference. Justice Datta rejected the request for a larger bench, while Justice Sharma held that the petitions warranted consideration by a five-judge Constitution Bench.

The court noted that the disagreement itself concerned whether the constitutional questions arising from the 2023 legislation should be examined by a larger bench. It therefore directed that the case papers be placed before the CJI to consider constituting a Constitution Bench to examine the validity of Section 7 and other provisions of the Act.

The petitions, including those filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms and Congress leader Jaya Thakur, challenge the selection framework introduced by the 2023 law. The legislation replaced the Chief Justice of India in the selection committee with a Union Cabinet minister nominated by the Prime Minister. The Centre has defended the arrangement, while the petitioners have questioned its independence and constitutional validity.