Rajya Sabha Speaker CP Radhakrishnan and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday rejected opposition parties’ notices seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Ganesh Kumar in both the Houses, ending the first ever attempt in Parliament to remove the CEC.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Rajya Sabha Secretariat said after “careful and objective assessment of all relevant aspects and issues, the Hon’ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha, in exercise of the powers conferred on him under Section 3 of the Judges (Investigation) Act, 1968, has refused to accept the said notice of motion.”
The Lok Sabha circular issued on Monday evening said: “Members are informed that the notice of motion dated 12 March 2026 signed by 130 members of the Lok Sabha under Article 324(5) of the Constitution of India, read with Article 124(4) thereof, Section 11(2) of the Chief Election Commissioners and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Service) Act, Judges (Investigation) Act, 1968, has been introduced, which seeks to Removal of Shri Gyanesh Kumar, Chief Election Commissioner, to the Hon’ble Speaker of the House, Lok Sabha.
“After due consideration of the Notice of Motion and careful and objective assessment of all relevant aspects and issues involved therein, the Speaker of the House, Lok Sabha, in exercise of the powers conferred on him under Section 3 of the Judges (Investigation) Act, 1968, has refused to accept the notice of the said Motion,” he added.
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According to the 2023 Law on the Appointment and Functions of the Central Election Commission and the Executive Committee, “the Chief Election Commissioner may only be removed from office in the same manner and on the same grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court.” In other words, this means that the CEC can only be removed by impeachment in both houses of Parliament.
Section 3 of the Judges (Investigation) Act provides: “The Speaker of the House of Representatives or, as the case may be, the President may, after consultation with such persons, if any, as he thinks fit and after considering such materials, if any, as may be available to him, either accept or refuse to accept the motion.”
The impeachment notice was filed on March 12 and signed by 63 members of the Rajya Sabha under Article 324(5) of the Constitution of India, read with Article 124(4) thereof, Section 11(2) of the Chief Election Commissioners and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Service) Act, 2023 and the Judges (Investigation) Act, 1968, which seeks to remove the CEC. The notice was also submitted to the Lok Sabha on the same day.
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Under the direction of the Trinamool Congress, two separate versions of the notice were tabled in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The opposition listed seven specific charges against Kumar, including “partisan and discriminatory behavior in office,” “deliberate obstruction of the election fraud investigation” and “mass disenfranchisement through SIR.”
The opposition criticized the decision to reject the notifications.
Trinamool Congress floor leader in Rajya Sabha Derek O’Brien said, “CEC Vanish Kumar’s removal notice has been rejected by Rajya Sabha MPs. Reason? No reason given. BJP continues to mock our great Parliament. Shame.”
Rajya Sabha Speaker Jairam Ramesh said: “We know what happened to the last Speaker of the Rajya Sabha who accepted the petition moved by opposition MPs.”
He was likely referring to the resignation of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar, who had accepted a notice sponsored by the opposition against Supreme Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma.
In the last two years, the opposition has filed impeachment warrants against judges, the Vice President, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the CEC. In the Budget session, the Opposition’s motion against the Speaker was rejected in the Lok Sabha.
The opposition has been at loggerheads with Kumar over the special intensified review of electoral rolls. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee personally appeared in court and conducted a five-day dharna against Kumar in Kolkata.
Earlier, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi alleged that questionable voters were added in Karnataka and Maharashtra in collusion with the BJP.
But the Election Commission rejected all the charges and asked Gandhi to file a complaint in an affidavit.
