The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government has opposed a batch of pleas before the Supreme Court that are seeking a stay on the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, reported Live Law reported on Wednesday.

The Union government told the top court that an attempt was being made to stir up a political controversy over the recent appointments of two new election commissioners under provisions of the Act.

In an affidavit to the top court, the Centre said: “A political controversy is sought to be created only on the basis of bare, unsupported and pernicious statements about certain vague and unspecified motives behind the appointment.”

The Centre denied the allegations that Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu were hastily appointed as election commissioners on March 14 to preempt any orders passed by the Supreme Court in the matter, which it was scheduled to hear on March 15.

In the hearing on March 15, the top court refused to stay the appointments of Sandhu and Kumar. It also declined to stay the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023.

“Keeping in mind the ensuing national general election of such wide magnitude, geographical width and amplitude, and simultaneous elections of four states, it would have been humanly not possible for one chief election commissioner to discharge his functions alone,” read the Centre’s affidavit.

It said that the two election commissioners were appointed in view of this and have already “assumed significant functional, administrative and policy responsibilities in the commission”.

“The schedule for the national general elections was also announced on March 16 and the process has started,” read the affidavit.

The affidavit came in response to petitions filed by Congress leader Jaya Thakur and the non-governmental organisation Association for Democratic Reforms.

The non-governmental organisation has challenged the constitutionality of Section 7 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023. The section lays down provisions for the appointment of the chief election commissioner and two other election commissioners, who comprise the three-member executive arm of the Election Commission.

Thakur’s plea sought that the new election commissioners be appointed as per the Supreme Court judgement in the case of Anoop Baranwal Versus Union of India.

In March 2023, based on the judgement, the top court formed a selection committee consisting of the prime minister, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the chief justice of India, until Parliament came up with a law on choosing election commissioners.

The selection committee had been formed to shield the Election Commission from executive influence. Before this judgement, appointments to the commission were made at the sole discretion of the Centre.

By replacing the chief justice with a Cabinet minister, the new law has brought the selection of election commissioners back under the Centre’s control and given the ruling party the decisive voice in appointments to the Election Commission.

In its affidavit, the Centre has argued that the 2023 Act is a “significant improvement” in the appointment process of election commissioners. It asserted that the Act provides for a more “democratic, collaborative, and inclusive exercise”.

The Centre also contended that the petitioners’ case is based on a “fundamental fallacy” that the independence of an institution can be maintained only when the selection committee is of a “particular formulation”.

“The election commissioners have been able to function neutrally and effectively even during the era of full executive discretion in appointment,” it said. “As a high constitutional office, the chief election commissioner enjoys protections that are in-built into the Constitution, and which enable them to act impartially.”

The BJP-led government also said that no questions have been raised regarding the qualifications of the two new election commissioners, Kumar and Sandhu, and therefore “no prima facie case can be said to have been made out”.

The Supreme Court will hear the batch of petitions next on Thursday.