SC refuses to stay bill on CEC appointment

WHILE THE BENCH AGREED TO EXAMINE THE ISSUE, IT REMAINED EMPHATIC THAT THE OPERATION OF A LAW CANNOT BE STAYED RIGHT NOW

- 

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the operation of the new law providing for appointment of chief election commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners (ECS) by a panel that does not include the Chief Justice of India (CJI).

"We will not stay it... stay is not possible. It's a statutory provision," said a bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, even as it issued a notice to the Union government and agreed to examine the matter.

Senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for Congress leader and petitioner Jaya Thakur, argued that the law is in the teeth of the separation of power and that it ought to be stayed before fresh appointments are made under the new law.

While the bench agreed to examine the issue, it remained emphatic that the operation of a law cannot be stayed at this stage. It fixed the next hearing of the matter in April.