A divided Supreme Court bench has sent challenges to the 2023 law governing appointments to the Election Commission to the Chief Justice of India for possible consideration by a Constitution Bench.
In a joint order issued after separate opinions, Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma said a three-judge bench would add delay because their disagreement concerns whether the cases themselves require five judges. The papers will therefore be placed before the Chief Justice to consider a larger bench on the validity of Section 7 and related provisions.
The order does not decide the constitutional challenge. It also records concern over years-long delays in deciding references and asks the Chief Justice to consider a permanent five-judge bench for pure constitutional questions. The institutional point is significant — the court treated timely constitutional adjudication as part of its core responsibility.
