Suri Payal filed a quo warranto petition in the Supreme Court, contesting the March 14, 2024 notifications that appointed Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, and the February 17, 2025 notifications that appointed Kumar as Chief Election Commissioner and Vivek Joshi as Election Commissioner.
She argues that the procedures outlined in Sections 5, 6 and 8(1) of the 2023 Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act were ignored, citing the lack of a transparent selection committee and failure to meet the Secretary‑level qualification criteria.
The petitions arrive amid a broader legal battle over the 2023 Act’s composition of the Selection Committee, which now includes the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition and a Union Cabinet Minister—replacing the former arrangement that had the Chief Justice of India as a member.
The government maintains that the appointments were issued under Section 4 of the Act and complied with all statutory requirements, and it has yet to file an official response.
The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for May 28, 2026, after which it will determine whether the appointments stand or must be vacated.