Impeachment move against CEC Gyanesh Kumar would lack numbers

As the Opposition’s high-velocity allegations of ‘vote theft’ get louder, political sources indicated on August 18 that the INDIA bloc parties are contemplating moving an impeachment motion against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar in the Monsoon Session of Parliament.

Also Read: INDIA bloc mulls impeachment motion against CEC Gyanesh Kumar amid Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Vote Chori’ row

The move, if put into motion, would mark an isolated but formidable test of India’s safeguards around the Chief Election Commission, one of the country’s leading constitutional bodies, whose mettle has been tried and tested not just in this country but around the world.

Constitutionally, the CEC can only be removed from office through the process of impeachment requiring two-thirds majority of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha or on grounds of proven misbehaviour or incapacity.

The CEC cannot be removed from office except on the grounds and in the way Supreme Court judges are removed. The CEC has a tenure of up to six years or up to the age of 65, whichever is earlier.

In real terms though, any impeachment would become a numbers game and under the circumstances, there is little doubt that the NDA government will move solidly behind the CEC.

Says former CEC TS Krishnamurthy, without getting embroiled in the pros and cons: “If there is a constitutional provision, let the opposition employ it.”

Asked whether it could, potentially, damage the office and the institution of the Election Commission, he declined to offer a view, saying “only time will tell whether it is the correct thing to do.’’

The controversy gathered steam after Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi accused the Election Commission of presiding over “vote theft” in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He claimed large-scale irregularities in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura constituency, citing duplicate entries, fake addresses, bulk voters, invalid photographs and misuse of voter forms.

Gyanesh Kumar dismisses Rahul Gandhi’s accusations

CEC Gyanesh Kumar hit back strongly on August 17, dismissing the accusations as an “insult” to the Constitution of India. He asked Gandhi either to provide a signed affidavit with evidence or apologise for the remarks. Rahul Gandhi refused, alleging bias and pointing out that no such demand was made when BJP MP Anurag Thakur levelled similar charges.

“The Election Commission asks for an affidavit from me. But when Anurag Thakur says the same thing that I am saying, the poll body does not ask for an affidavit from him,” Rahul Gandhi said.

As the NDA-INDIA battle of words escalated, Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain was quoted by the ANI as saying that the party was prepared to use “all democratic tools,” including the option of an impeachment motion.

Legally, the two election commissioners can be removed by the President on the recommendation of the CEC. In 2009, CEC N Gopalaswami sent a recommendation to the then President Pratibha Patil to remove election commissioner Navin Chawla due to his partisan behaviour in favour of a particular political party. The President held that such a recommendation is not binding on her and rejected the proposal.

Commenting that the system of appointment of election commissioners is defective, former CEC SY Quraishi said the process should be revamped to ensure the neutrality and independence of the Election Commission of India.

He told LiveLaw in an interview in 2022 “that the most powerful Commission in the world has the most defective system of appointment.”

Also Read: Bihar Voter List Row: People joining SIR enthusiastically, says CEC Gyanesh Kumar, as INDIA bloc cries foul

While conceding that he too was a beneficiary of the same system, Quraishi said that wider consultation was needed for such appointments, including parliamentary oversight, stressing the urgent need for a collegium.

The Election Commission was a single-member body when it was set up in 1950. This system lasted until 1989 with the CEC as the lone member. After the Election Commission Amendment Act 1989, it became a multi-member body. Since October 1989, it has retained the three-member format it is in today.