The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notices to the Centre and the Election Commission on a PIL challenging a 2023 law that granted immunity to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs) for acts done in the discharge of their official duties.Asking the Centre and the Election Commission to respond to the PIL filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana tagged the plea with another PIL already pending before the top court.The petitioner urged the top court to declare Section 16 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, unconstitutional. The provision grants immunity to the CEC and ECs and bars judicial proceedings against them for acts or omissions in their official capacity.“Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, no Court shall entertain or continue any civil or criminal proceedings against any person who is or was a Chief Election Commissioner or an Election Commissioner for any act, thing or word, committed, done or spoken by him when, or in the course of acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty or function,” Section 16 reads.Commenting on the immunity granted to the CEC and ECs under the 2023 law, the top court had said on October 5, “This protection is perhaps only for the President. It does not apply even to judges.”“No other provision in the Constitution of India or any statute grants immunity that is at once lifelong, unconditioned by good faith, free of any sanction mechanism, and without a saving clause,” ADR contended. The organisation was represented by senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan.The impugned provision remains in force as the top court has not stayed its operation. The court will now examine whether such immunity can be granted to a constitutional functionary under the constitutional scheme.This is the second challenge to the validity of the controversial law. On January 12, the top court issued notices to the Centre and the Election Commission on a PIL filed by Lok Prahari, an NGO, challenging the immunity granted to the CEC and ECs under the 2023 law, which deals with their appointment and service conditions.“In the case of Mr. M.S. Gill, the Constitution Bench had ruled that Article 324 does not exalt the EC to a law unto itself. The impugned provision does precisely that by granting lifelong, unprecedented immunity to the CEC and ECs, which the makers of the Constitution did not grant even to the President and the Governors,” advocate S.N. Shukla had submitted on behalf of Lok Prahari.