“Proven misbehavior”, “partisan and discriminatory conduct”, and the “SIR exercise and mass disenfranchisement” – these are among the main grounds cited in the draft of the motion to be moved by the Opposition for the impeachment of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
The Opposition has been contemplating this move for the past few months, deciding to go ahead with it Monday after getting all parties in their ranks on board.
The required number of signatures of the Opposition MPs of both Houses have already been collected for the motion, which is addressed to the President of India. The notice for the motion will be submitted on Wednesday evening or Thursday morning, The Indian Express has learnt.
“We have to collect 100 signatures from Lok Sabha MPs and 50 from Rajya Sabha MPs for our proposed impeachment motion against the CEC. It is almost complete and we will submit the motion today or tomorrow morning,” said a source.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has taken the initiative for this move against the CEC, with senior TMC MPs being on the forefront of collecting signatures of the Opposition members of both Houses of Parliament.
The Election Commission (EC)’s special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has remained a contentious exercise in several states, but it has especially been controversial in Bengal.
The move is largely symbolic, given the ruling NDA alliance’s clear numerical advantage in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, but it has huge political significance as it comes days before the EC is expected to announce the Assembly election schedule for West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
How is the CEC removed?
The process for seeking the CEC’s removal is similar to that of impeaching a Supreme Court judge. Article 324 (5) of the Constitution states that “the Chief Election Commissioner shall not be removed from his office except in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court and the conditions of service of the Chief Election Commissioner shall not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment”.
The grounds for the removal of the CEC and other ECs are also laid down in Section 11 (2) of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, which regulates the appointment, conditions of service and term of office of the CEC and the ECs. It states, “The Chief Election Commissioner shall not be removed from his office except in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court.”
The procedure for removal of a Judge is laid down in the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968. It stipulates that a complaint against a judge is taken up if it is signed by at least 100 members if moved in the Lok Sabha and 50 members in the Rajya Sabha. Once the motion is submitted, the presiding officer of the House takes a call on whether to accept or reject it.
If the motion is admitted, the Speaker or the Chairman of the House constitutes a three-member investigative committee.
The committee then frames charges based on which the investigation is conducted. After concluding its investigation, the committee submits its report to the Speaker or Chairman, who then has to lay the report before the relevant House. If the report records a finding of misbehaviour or incapacity, the motion for removal is taken up for consideration and debated.
For the motion to go through, at least two-thirds of those “present and voting” in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha must vote to remove the judge, and the number of votes in favour must be more than 50% of the “total membership” of each House. Once both Houses adopt the motion by a special majority, it is sent to the President of India.
