Today, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said he would examine an application seeking recall of the Supreme Court’s September 23 split verdict in the challenge to the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023.

Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan mentioned the application before the CJI and clarified that it was an interlocutory application (IA) seeking recall of the judgment delivered by a bench comprising Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma.

Sankaranarayanan also informed the CJI that another party had filed a curative petition challenging the split verdict.

“We will examine and then take a call,” CJI Surya Kant said.

The CJI noted that he had also come across the filing of a curative petition. Sankaranarayanan confirmed that the curative petition had been filed by another party.

“But curative is to be preceded by a review,” the Senior Advocate said, while pointing out that the application mentioned before the CJI was an interlocutory application.

The application has been filed by Naman Shrestra, raising a concern of possible bias on the part of Justice Satish Chandra Sharma. The applicant has claimed that Justice Sharma’s son is a standing counsel for the Election Commission of India and that this association was not disclosed during the proceedings.

The application seeks recall of the September 23 verdict, through which the two-judge bench differed on whether the petitions challenging the CEC law should be referred to a larger bench.

Justice Dipankar Datta had held that a reference to a larger bench was unnecessary, while Justice Satish Chandra Sharma took the contrary view.

In view of the difference of opinion, the matter was ultimately referred to a five-judge bench and placed before the CJI for appropriate directions.