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Supreme Court of India· 23 September 2026

Does the pro tem committee directed in Anoop Baranwal cease once Parliament enacts a law under Article 324(2)?

DR. JAYA THAKUR AND ORS v. UNION OF INDIA AND ANR
2026 INSC 1040 · WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO. 14 OF 2024
Coram: Justice Dipankar Datta · Justice Satish Chandra Sharma
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Answer

The pro tem committee directed in Anoop Baranwal is an interim arrangement that ceases once Parliament enacts a law under Article 324(2).

Yes, on the purely prima facie view of one Judge. The guidelines in Anoop Baranwal were to remain in force till Parliament enacted a law under Article 324, and the pro tem committee was an exercise of power under Article 142; once the 2023 Act was enacted, the interim arrangement of including the CJI worked itself out, and a judicial interim arrangement was replaced by a legislative rule.

Headnote

Constitution of India — Art.145(3) — Art.324(2) — Art.141 — Art.142 — Supreme Court Rules, 2013 — Order XXXVIII — Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 — s.7 — Reference To Larger Bench — Unsettled Question Of Constitutional Interpretation — (Interim order — the two Judges differ on the reference; the papers are placed before the Chief Justice of India.) Constitution of India — Art.145(3) — Reference To Larger Bench — Unsettled Question Of Constitutional Interpretation — Held: In one Judge's opinion, a reference under Article 145(3) needs a question of law, substantial in nature, as to interpretation of the Constitution which remains unsettled. Applying settled principles to a new statute does not amount to such a question. (¶79, 85, 86) Constitution of India — Art.324(2) — Art.142 — Anoop Baranwal — Interim Arrangement Worked Itself Out — Held further: On that Judge's purely prima facie view, independence of the ECI from exclusive executive control is binding. The three-member committee was an interim arrangement under Article 142 that worked itself out once the 2023 Act was enacted. (¶61, 64) Constitution of India — Art.145(3) — Difference Of Opinion — Papers Before Chief Justice — Held further: The other Judge would refer the petitions to a Constitution Bench of not less than five Judges. Given the difference, the papers go before the Chief Justice of India, and the petitions may be placed for hearing subject to his order. (¶89)

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In the Court's own words
Paragraph 61Reading Anoop Baranwal (supra), it does appear to have been the concern of the Constitution Bench that a vacuum had existed for seven decades resulting in a constitutional failure on the part of the Parliament, which was sought to be constitutionally remedied by this Court, as was the case in Vishaka (supra) and Prakash Singh (supra). There can be no doubt that the guidelines set by the Constitution Bench in Anoop Baranwal (supra) were to remain in force till the enactment of a law by the Parliament under Article 324; once the Parliament enacts the law, the interim directions would cease to operate. By enacting the 2023 Act, the Parliament has exercised the power the Constitution reserved for it. A judicial interim arrangement has, thus, been replaced by a legislative rule.
Paragraph 64What follows from a reading of Anoop Baranwal (supra) is that the declaration of independence of the ECI being integral to free and fair elections and that the process has to be independent of exclusive executive control, is binding on all courts and, in no unclear terms, animates how Article 324(2) is to be interpreted by the constitutional courts. However, constitution of the pro tem committee as an interim arrangement has to be seen as an exercise of this Court’s power under Article 142 of the Constitution as a pro tem measure. Once the 2023 Act was enacted, the interim arrangement of including the CJI in the process of selection of the CEC and the ECs worked itself out.
Acts & Sections
Art.145(3) Constitution of IndiaArt.324(2) Constitution of IndiaArt.141 Constitution of IndiaArt.142 Constitution of Indias.7 Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023

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Also decided in this judgment
Does a reference to a Constitution Bench under Article 145(3) require an unsettled substantial question of law?Must the Election Commission of India be insulated from exclusive executive control in appointing the CEC and the ECs?Must the Election Commission of India also be seen to act independently?
Plain-language answer prepared by the LexStreak Editorial Desk — verify against the judgment. Source: Supreme Court of India. Corrections