Supreme Court questions rapid 1 day appointment of election commissioners
The Supreme Court is questioning how quickly the government picked Gyanesh Kumar and S S Sandhu as election commissioners; basically, both were appointed in just a day under a new law.
The selection panel included the prime minister, a union cabinet minister, and the leader of the opposition.
Petitioners say this speed is unusual and the Supreme Court bench said they want to see the same energy when it comes to appointing judges too.
Petitioners warn democracy at risk
Petitioners argue that swapping out the chief justice for a cabinet minister on the selection panel weakens checks on government power, making the process less independent.
They also point out that 141 opposition MPs were suspended when this law was passed, raising questions about transparency.
The Supreme Court reviewed all these concerns on Thursday, with petitioners warning that democracy itself could be at risk if the Election Commission loses its autonomy.