Election Commissioners’ Immunity: Supreme Court Seeks Centre, EC Reply

The Supreme Court on Wednesday, 4 November, asked the Centre and the Election Commission of India to respond to a petition that wants Section 16 of the 2023 law on election commissioners struck down. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana issued notice on the plea by activist-lawyer Arun Kumar Agrawal, who says the clause gives the Chief Election Commissioner and the Election Commissioners protection from civil and criminal proceedings with no exception, according to ANI.

Plea Says Voters Have No Remedy

Section 16 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 bars legal proceedings against them for acts done in their official duties. Agrawal argues the protection is excessive and unconstitutional because it does not carve out acts done without good faith. In his view, voters, candidates and citizens are left without recourse against any wrongful or mala fide action.

The petition says narrower safeguards, such as protection against frivolous complaints or prior judicial scrutiny, would shield commissioners without closing every legal route. It also questions how the immunity clause came to be added through an amendment to the 2023 Bill, saying no adequate justification was offered.

Also read SIR Form 6: Voters Missing From Draft Roll Can Re-Apply, Says EC

Special Intensive Revision in the Background

The plea refers to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, including reported objections from within the Commission and concerns about the software used. It also cites allegations about CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s conduct when he was Kerala’s Public Works Department secretary. These are claims made in the petition; the court has not examined them.

The opposition has been pressing similar questions in public. The INDIA bloc’s mock Parliament listed six charges against the CEC, and the Commission’s own affidavit in the Supreme Court set out its position on the SIR and Form 6. Data on names cut from draft rolls is in an earlier IPB report.

No Hearing Date Yet

The Centre and the Commission now have to file their responses. The reports of the order do not give a next hearing date, so the timeline for any ruling on Section 16 is not known.

Source: Based on reporting by ANI via WebIndia123.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.