SC agrees to hear plea challenging immunity to CEC, election officials

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, 13 October, agreed to hear a plea challenging the validity of a provision of a 2023 law that grants immunity to the chief election commissioner and election commissioners for certain acts undertaken during the discharge of their official duties.

A Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana issued notice to the Centre and the Election Commission of India seeking their responses on the plea filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms.

The plea is to declare Section 16 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 as unconstitutional.

Section 16 of the Act says, "Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, no court shall entertain or continue any civil or criminal proceedings against any person who is or was a Chief Election Commissioner or an Election Commissioner for any act, thing or word, committed, done or spoken by him when, or in the course of acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty or function."

The ADR petition contends that the provision gives blanket, lifelong immunity without conditions such as good faith or any sanction mechanism, placing the CEC and ECs beyond judicial scrutiny. No other constitutional or statutory office, including the President, Governors, Prime Minister, or judges, enjoys such sweeping immunity. Furthermore, the petition challenges the manner in which Section 16 was inserted into the Act—by an executive amendment introduced late in the legislative process, passed without debate while many Opposition MPs were suspended, thereby raising procedural impropriety

The Bench tagged ADR's plea with a separate pending petition raising similar issue.

In January this year, the top court had agreed to examine a separate plea challenging the immunity granted to the CEC and the ECs under Section 16 of the 2023 Act.

It had issued notice to the Centre and the Election Commission seeking their responses on the plea filed by NGO 'Lok Prahari'. The top court had then refused to stay the provision.

The Court’s hearing is tentatively listed for November 6, 2026. The Bench has asked the Solicitor General’s office to prepare a chart listing all petitions and issues related to this law to facilitate government response and comprehensive consideration