Petitioner asked to take Election Commission disclosure plea before India’s Chief Justice

A petitioner in a case challenging India’s Election Commissioners appointments law has been asked to mention an application before the Chief Justice of India after raising concerns about an alleged non-disclosure during proceedings. The application was mentioned on Thursday before Justice Dipankar Datta, who led the bench that delivered a split verdict on September 23. Justice Datta directed the petitioner-applicant to take the plea before the Chief Justice.

The petitioner, Naman Shestra, is seeking recall of the opinion delivered by Justice Satish Chandra Sharma on whether the challenge to the 2023 law should be referred to a five-judge Constitution Bench. Justice Datta had declined the reference in his opinion, while Justice Sharma favoured it. The two judges subsequently issued a common order asking the Chief Justice to allocate the case to a Constitution Bench.

Shestra’s application questions why Justice Sharma did not disclose during the proceedings that his son, Siddharth Sharma, was a standing counsel for the Election Commission of India before the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The application says the engagement began in July 2024 and continued after changes in the poll body’s membership. The petitioner did not allege actual bias, motive or bad faith.

Instead, he argued that the professional engagement of an immediate family member with the institution whose statutory structure and appointments were under challenge should have been disclosed while the case was being heard. The application says the matter was heard on five dates and that disclosure would have enabled the petitioners to request Justice Sharma’s recusal before the opinions and order were issued. Another petitioner, Jaya Thakur, has already filed a curative petition seeking recall of the split verdict and alleging a reasonable apprehension of bias and concerns about propriety.

The source material says the split decision may delay a final ruling on the validity of the 2023 law, which replaced the Chief Justice of India on the selection panel with a Union minister nominated by the Prime Minister.