SUPREME COURT TO REVISIT ELECTION COMMISSION VERDICT AFTER CONFLICT-OF-INTEREST PLEA

October 8, 2026

The Supreme Court has agreed to examine an application seeking recall of its September 23 split verdict concerning the constitutional challenge to the 2023 law governing the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.

The application was mentioned before Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana by senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan. The Chief Justice said the court would examine the plea and take a decision on it.

The development follows a split decision by Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma. Justice Datta opposed the Centre’s request to refer the challenge to a larger Constitution Bench, while Justice Sharma favoured such a reference. The disagreement resulted in the matter being placed before the Chief Justice for consideration of an appropriate bench.

The fresh recall application raises a potential conflict-of-interest issue involving Justice Sharma. It points to the fact that his son has been serving as standing counsel for the Election Commission before the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The allegation has been raised as a ground for seeking reconsideration of the earlier proceedings and does not itself constitute a finding by the Supreme Court that the judge was biased.

A separate curative petition has also been filed in connection with the matter. The underlying legal challenge concerns the 2023 legislation that replaced the earlier selection mechanism involving the Chief Justice of India with a panel comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet minister nominated by the Prime Minister.

The Supreme Court’s decision on whether to entertain the recall application could determine how the earlier split verdict and the wider constitutional challenge to the Election Commission appointments law proceed.