New Delhi, May 8 -- "Election commissioners are considered at par with Supreme Court judges," a two-judge bench of the apex court said Thursday, bantering that it would be good if the government cleared the appointments of Supreme Court judges as speedily as it appointed election commisioners. The observation came when the court was hearing a clutch of petitions challenging the CEC and EC (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, after senior advocate Vijay Hansaria appearing for a petitioner, Congress leader Jaya Thakur, stated that the top court had in March 2024 declined to stay the law when two election commissioners, Gyanesh Kumar (present CEC) and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, had to be appointed. He showed how the se...