Supreme Court notice over immunity granted to Chief Election Commissioner

The Supreme Court in New Delhi has issued a notice on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed against the blanket immunity granted to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and other Election Commissioners under the 2023 Act. According to an India Today report, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana has sought a response in this matter. The petition challenges the constitutional validity of Section 16 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023.

This law, passed by Parliament last year, provides that the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners shall be protected from any legal proceedings or actions for acts done or decisions taken in their official capacity during their tenure. In the submission made by petitioner and advocate Arun Kumar Agarwal, it is argued that this provision provides absolute protection without any exceptions, including acts that may not have been done in good faith or that are outside the jurisdiction of the officers.

The petition further states that such broad protection deprives citizens of civil and criminal remedies available against the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners. The petitioner believes that protecting the independence of the Election Commission does not mean granting its members complete immunity from legal accountability. Therefore, the petitioner has demanded that Section 16 of the 2023 Act be declared unconstitutional.

This notice was issued while the Supreme Court was hearing other petitions challenging the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. During this hearing, the bench raised several questions regarding the functioning of the Election Commission and the protection of voters. The court asked whether this process was designed to harass or intimidate voters. The court also questioned the urgency of conducting this exercise in Delhi when no election is near.

The bench clarified that the Election Commission should not insist on strict deadlines and should continue the process of submitting forms even if delayed. The court also expressed surprise as to why voters whose names were already registered in the electoral roll but were missing from the draft list were being asked to fill out Form 6 again. Justice Bagchi questioned whether a voter could be permanently punished by being deprived of the right to vote for someone else's negligence.

The court has directed the Election Commission to display the physical lists of deleted voters in local languages at the block level. The court assured the petitioners and voters that there is no need to panic as these matters are under consideration in court. The Election Commission informed the court that they would consider extending the deadline and relaxing the process of accepting forms in Delhi. The next hearing in this matter is scheduled for 19 November.

The court further clarified that deletion of names under SIR or the expiry of a deadline does not permanently prevent a voter from being added to the electoral roll. Citizens can apply for corrections in the list until the last date of filing nomination papers. The Election Commission is a constitutional body of India responsible for conducting free and fair elections in the country. This institution was established under the Indian Constitution and works to protect the rights of voters in the democratic process.