Curative petition in Supreme Court seeks recall of split verdict on CEC and ECs appointment law

30 September 2026

A curative petition, reported on 30 September 2026, seeks recall of the 23 September split verdict on the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023.
The petitioner is Dr Jaya Thakur, through advocate Varun Thakur.
The 23 September bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma differed on referring the challenge to a larger bench; Justice Datta rejected the Centre's request and Justice Sharma agreed with it.
Both judges recommended that the Chief Justice of India consider constituting a Constitution Bench.
The petition argues that Justice Sharma should have recused himself because his son Siddharth Sharma has been standing counsel for the Election Commission of India before the Madhya Pradesh High Court since July 2024.