CJI Surya Kant recuses from EC appointment case: 'Somebody may accuse me of conflict of interest'

Row over exclusion of CJI from Election Commissioner selection panel despite prior Supreme Court ruling

• CJI Surya Kant steps down from EC appointment law case
• Petitions challenge exclusion of CJI from EC selection panel
• Case to be heard by a Bench not in line to become CJI

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Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Friday stepped aside from hearing a batch of petitions challenging the legal framework governing the appointment and service conditions of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners.

The matter was listed before a Bench also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi. At the outset, the CJI indicated his reservations about continuing with the case, stating, "Should I hear this matter? Somebody may accuse me of a conflict of interest."

The petitions question the validity of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023. One of the key grounds of challenge is that the law excludes the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel responsible for appointing Election Commissioners.

During the hearing, advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for one of the petitioners, suggested that the matter be assigned to a Bench that does not include a judge who is in line to become the Chief Justice of India. The suggestion found favour with CJI Kant, who agreed to recuse in order to avoid any perception of bias.

"This is what was in my mind. I should mark the matter to a Bench where the judge is not in line to become CJI. Then nobody can say anything. I have already done my homework," he remarked.

The Court subsequently directed that the case be listed on April 7 before a separately designated Bench.

The controversy surrounding the 2023 law stems from an earlier Supreme Court ruling in Anoop Baranwal v Union of India and others, which had called for the inclusion of the CJI in the committee responsible for appointing Election Commissioners.

The current law, however, provides for a selection panel consisting of the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister, and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

Previously, in 2024, a Bench led by former CJI Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta had declined to stay the operation of the law. The same Bench had also refused to interfere with the appointments of Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar made under the statute.