The Supreme Court on Wednesday, 7 October 2026, agreed to examine an application asking it to recall its recent split verdict in the challenge to the law that governs the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.
What happened in court
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan mentioned the application before a bench of the Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant, and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana. “We will examine and take a call,” the Chief Justice said, according to The Print and The Statesman.
The split verdict
On 23 September, a two-judge bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma disagreed on a preliminary question: whether the challenges to the law should be sent to a larger Constitution bench.
- Justice Datta rejected the request for a reference.
- Justice Sharma held that the challenge raised a substantial constitutional question that a Constitution bench should decide.
When two judges differ, the matter normally goes to the Chief Justice to be placed before another bench.
The law in question
The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 provides that the Commissioners are chosen by a committee of the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet minister nominated by the Prime Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
The law followed a Constitution bench judgment of March 2023, which had directed that, until Parliament legislated, appointments be made by a committee of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India. Parliament’s law left the Chief Justice out. The petitioners argue that this gives the government of the day a built-in majority and weakens the independence of the Election Commission. The government’s position is that Parliament was entitled to legislate as it did.
Why it matters now
The challenges have been pending for more than two years, during which the present Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, was appointed under the new law. It is being heard at a time when opposition parties are protesting against the Commission over the revision of voter lists and demanding his resignation.
No date has been announced for the next hearing.
This report draws on The Print, The Statesman and LawChakra.
Image: The Supreme Court of India, New Delhi (file photo). Photo by Pinakpani, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.