Son of SC judge who heard election commissioner appointment act case is EC lawyer

Opposition leaders and legal observers have raised questions about alleged judicial impropriety by Supreme Court Justice Satish Chandra Sharma for hearing petitions regarding the constitutionality of a 2023 law that governs the appointment of members of the Election Commission, despite his son being the standing advocate for the poll panel in Madhya Pradesh.

It was not clear if the judge had disclosed this information to the petitioners against the 2023 Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office Act before the hearing, Live Law reported on Friday.

On Wednesday, he had disagreed with Justice Dipankar Datta, who was part of the bench hearing the six petitions against the Act, when the latter held that the law “does not appear to ensure an independent selection process”.

The Act states that the head of the poll panel and the two other top members are to be appointed based on the recommendations of a selection committee comprising the prime minister, a Union Cabinet minister and the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

The composition of the panel means that the government enjoys a 2:1 majority over the leader of the Opposition, if there is a difference of opinion.

Sharma on Wednesday also headed a bench that overturned an Allahabad High Court order...

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