Opposition To Push For Impeachment Of Poll Body Chief Again: Sources

The Opposition is preparing to move a fresh impeachment motion against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with Congress taking the initiative and parties within the INDIA bloc reaching an agreement on the move, sources have told NDTV.

A notice for the motion is being drafted and could be submitted in Parliament as early as next week, according to Congress sources.

The proposed move comes a day after an investigation by The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections on at least 14 occasions over 10 months to decisions and orders of the Election Commission, including matters relating to the revision of electoral rolls. 

The report has triggered a fresh political confrontation over the functioning of the Election Commission and the nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The Opposition has cited the reported objections as fresh grounds for action against Mr Kumar. The Election Commission, however, has rejected any suggestion that its decisions were divided or that the two Election Commissioners had formally dissented from decisions of the full Commission.

The poll body has said that all its decisions over the past year, including those concerning SIR, were unanimous.

Fresh Motion After Earlier Notice

The proposed impeachment motion would not be the Opposition's first attempt to initiate proceedings against Gyanesh Kumar.

On April 24, 73 Opposition MPs in the Rajya Sabha submitted a notice seeking his removal from office on grounds of alleged "proven misbehaviour". Congress had said at the time that the notice contained nine specific charges. The Opposition had tried a similar move on March 12, but the notice was rejected by the chairman of the Rajya Sabha. 

That notice remains pending, according to Congress sources and Opposition leaders. The Opposition is now preparing a new notice that will incorporate the latest revelations, sources said.

The April notice was signed by 73 MPs. Opposition sources said seven of those signatories have since switched sides, prompting the need for a fresh initiative based on the current composition of the House and the latest allegations.

The move follows an earlier attempt in March, when Opposition parties had submitted notices in both Houses seeking Mr Kumar's removal. Those notices were rejected on April 6 by the Rajya Sabha Chairman and Lok Sabha Speaker. 

The procedure for removing a Chief Election Commissioner follows the same procedure applicable to the removal of a Supreme Court judge. A removal motion requires the requisite number of parliamentary members to initiate the process, followed by an inquiry if the motion is admitted and, ultimately, a special majority in Parliament. 

What Triggered The New Offensive

The trigger for the fresh political offensive by the Opposition is an Indian Express investigation published on September 23. The newspaper reported that Sandhu and Joshi had recorded formal objections at least 14 times over a period of 10 months.

The objections, the Indian Express reported, covered a range of issues concerning electoral-roll management, including the addition of new voters, deletion and restoration of names, appeals against decisions relating to electoral rolls and changes to Form 6, among other things. 

Form 6 is the statutory form used by people applying to be registered as voters.

According to the Express report, the two Election Commissioners objected to changes made to the form, describing the alterations as "illegal" and "unauthorised". Their position, according to the report, was that the statutory form could not be changed without amendments to the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.

Poll Body Says There Was No Dissent

The Election Commission responded to the report on Wednesday with an eight-point statement, asserting that the ECI is a constitutional body functioning under Article 324 of the Constitution and statutory rules.

The Commission stressed that it is a multi-member constitutional body and said written notes, observations, technical suggestions and internal checks and balances are normal parts of its functioning.

"All actions of ECI have been in accordance of laws and instructions of the Commission," it said.

The Commission added that all official orders, decisions and administrative directions issued by it carry legal sanction and follow due procedures under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023.

According to the ECI, any operational queries or inputs raised by members during the drafting stage are part of ordinary administrative practice.

"The suggestions given by the Commissioners were for further improving the electoral processes," it said.

The Commission's central argument was that internal observations should not be confused with dissent over final decisions. Such views, the Commission added, are part of the decision-making process before a final decision is taken.