The Supreme Court of India expressed its disappointment over the lack of legislative action to ensure the independent functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI). During a hearing on petitions challenging the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma criticized Parliament's failure to enact a law governing the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners (ECs). Justice Datta described the situation as the 'tyranny of the elected', noting that successive governments have exploited the absence of such legislation to compromise the ECI's independence. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the petitioner Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), argued that every government has taken advantage of this gap, undermining the ECI's autonomy. The Act, passed in December 2023, allows the appointment of the CEC and ECs by a committee comprising the Prime Minister, a Union minister, and the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, excluding the Chief Justice of India from the process, which the petitioners argue violates the Supreme Court's earlier ruling.