Rahul Gandhi has termed “disrespectful and discourteous” the midnight decision to appoint the new chief election commissioner (CEC) when the process of selection has been challenged in the Supreme Court.

The government late on Monday night appointed Gyanesh Kumar as the new CEC, hours after the meeting of the selection committee whose current members are Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah and leader of the Opposition Rahul.

Rahul and the Congress had asked the government to defer the meeting till the Supreme Court arrived at a decision on the panel’s constitution.

The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, had excluded the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel and replaced him with a cabinet minister nominated by the Prime Minister.

The Supreme Court will on Wednesday hear pleas seeking the CJI’s inclusion, which is expected to protect the panel from government dominance.

Rahul had submitted a dissent note to the panel at Monday’s meeting.

“It will be both disrespectful and discourteous to the institutions as well as to the founding leaders of our nation for this committee to continue with its process of choosing the next CEC when the very composition of this committee and the process is being challenged and soon to be heard by the Hon. Supreme Court,” he said in the note.

“While speaking in the Constituent Assembly in June 1949 to discuss the setting up of an independent Election Commission, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar warned about executive interference in India’s democracy and the affairs of the Election Commission…. The Supreme Court judgment reflected the larger concern among hundreds of millions of voters over the integrity of our electoral process. This is also reflected in public surveys that show a continuing decline in trust of voters in India’s election process and its institutions,” he explained in the note.

Rahul added: “Unfortunately, soon after the Supreme Court order, the Government of India notified a legislation in August 2023 that bypassed the spirit and the letter of the Supreme Court’s order…. This government order was subsequently challenged by a public interest litigant. The Supreme Court has indicated its intention to take up this matter on 19th February 2025, less than forty-eight hours away.”

Five hours after the meeting of the selection panel, the Centre uploaded the notification elevating the seniormost election commissioner, Kumar, as the CEC. Haryana chief secretary Vivek Joshi was appointed an election commissioner.