New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday, July 30, reserved its judgment on whether the pleas challenging the law for regulating appointment procedures of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and the deputies need to be referred to a larger five-judge bench. A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma asked the petitioners and the Centre to file written submissions in this regard. Under the 2023 Act, the selection committee consists of the prime minister, a Union minister nominated by the prime minister and the leader of opposition or leader of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha. The PILs said the exclusion of the CJI from the panel undermines the independence of the appointment process. The law has been challenged by multiple petitioners, including Congress leader Jaya Thakur and the Association for Democratic Reforms.