The Supreme Court refused to stay the appointments of Election Commissioners (ECs) Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar on Friday even as petitioners argued that the hurry and lack of transparency shown by the government has sent a wrong message that the two retired IAS officers are “favourable” to the regime in power.
Appearing before a three-judge Bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna, the petitioners, represented by senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Vikas Singh and advocate Prashant Bhushan, said the two appointments were made on March 14 in accordance with a new law, the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act of 2023.
The 2023 Act bequeaths the government with the dominant role in the selection of ECs. The appointments of the new ECs were made while a challenge to the law was already pending in the Supreme Court, they argued.
