New Delhi (Rajeev Sharma): The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to consider an application seeking the recall of its recent split decision concerning the constitutional challenge to the law governing the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.
The matter was brought before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan informed the bench that a separate application had been filed seeking recall of the September 23 judgment.
“We will examine and take a call,” the Chief Justice said while responding to the submission.
The recall plea relates to proceedings over the 2023 legislation that changed the composition of the selection panel for appointing the CEC and ECs. A key point of contention is the exclusion of the Chief Justice of India from that panel.
Two judges differed on larger Bench reference
The development follows a split verdict delivered on September 23 by a bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma.
The two judges had been hearing the Centre’s request to have petitions challenging the validity of the 2023 law placed before a larger Constitution Bench.
Justice Datta did not agree with the Centre’s request for a larger Bench, while Justice Sharma took the opposite view and supported a reference.
Because of the disagreement, the matter was directed to be placed before the Chief Justice on the administrative side so that an appropriately constituted Bench could be formed to settle the issue.
Recall plea comes separately from curative petition
During Wednesday’s hearing, Sankaranarayanan explained that the recall application had initially been mentioned before Justice Datta’s bench. However, after the matter was released from that bench, the lawyer was directed to approach the Chief Justice.
He also informed the court that a curative petition had been filed in connection with the matter. The senior counsel clarified that the curative petition and the recall application were separate proceedings.
According to Sankaranarayanan, the recall plea specifically seeks withdrawal of the September 23 judgment, while the curative petition would have to be considered independently on its own legal parameters.
The Chief Justice asked whether any other interlocutory application was pending, following which the lawyer explained the distinction between the two proceedings.
Appointment law under challenge
At the heart of the larger dispute is the 2023 law governing the appointment of the CEC and Election Commissioners. Petitioners have questioned the constitutional validity of the mechanism, particularly the decision to replace the Chief Justice of India on the selection panel.
The latest move means the Supreme Court will now examine the request to recall the split verdict before the next stage of proceedings on the larger constitutional question is determined.
