Supreme Court Seeks Responses on Election Officials’ Immunity

The Supreme Court has issued notice to the Centre and the Election Commission of India on a challenge to a 2023 law granting the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners immunity from civil and criminal proceedings for acts in the course of their official duties. The Court has not ruled on whether the provision is constitutional. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana sought responses to activist and lawyer Arun Kumar Agrawal’s petition challenging Section 16 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office Act, 2023. The notice was issued on November 4. Agrawal’s petition argues that the provision is too broad because it does not exclude alleged bad-faith conduct or acts beyond an official’s lawful authority. It says the protection can prevent people from pursuing civil or criminal remedies over alleged misconduct. Those claims are arguments before the Court, not findings by the judges. The petition also contends that protecting the Election Commission’s independence does not require removing legal accountability. It says voters whose names are...