The Supreme Court has sought responses from the Centre on a petition challenging the legal immunity granted to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners under the 2023 Act.
A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, issued notice on the plea challenging Section 16 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023.
The provision protects election commissioners from legal proceedings over actions, decisions or statements made in their official capacity during their tenure.
Petitioner and lawyer Arun Kumar Agrawal argued that the law provides excessive protection, even for actions taken without good faith or beyond official authority. He maintained that such immunity limits citizens’ access to legal remedies and weakens accountability.
The development came during a separate hearing on the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The court questioned the exercise’s deadlines and safeguards, stressing that voters should not lose their voting rights due to procedural delays.
It also directed the poll panel to display lists of deleted voters in local languages at the block level. The next hearing on the SIR matter is scheduled for November 19.