The Supreme Court on Wednesday scheduled the hearing of pleas challenging the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs) under the new 2023 law for February 19—just a day after the current CEC, Rajiv Kumar, retires on February 18. Lawyer Prashant Bhushan, representing petitioner NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), urged the apex court to list and hear the matter at the earliest, emphasising the urgency of the case. He noted that while the pleas were initially set for a hearing on Wednesday, they had now been deferred to February 19.