Rajya Sabha Speaker CP Radhakrishnan and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla have rejected the Opposition notice seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, arguing that the allegations lack necessary proof of misconduct. A detailed dismissal order circulated among lawmakers noted that some of the charges relate to matters subject to judicial review.
“Although these allegations are relevant to the political debate, they do not prima facie meet the high constitutional standards for deportation proceedings,” the order said. He stressed that the Election Commission of India (ECI) “takes charge of functions that lie at the heart of our democratic framework.” The order added that the decisions of the European Economic Commission, by their nature, must carry political consequences, regardless of the path taken.
The order said that any proposal to remove the CEC must be examined with the utmost care and caution, striking a careful balance between maintaining institutional independence and the right of members to submit a proposal. “Such a proposal can only be accepted if there are reliable materials that reveal a prima facie case. The Constitution aims to protect its independence, as accepting removal requests based on administrative disputes or political perceptions would jeopardize its independence.”
Presidents have focused primarily on constitutional and legal provisions in the face of allegations of “misconduct.”
The order referred to the charge that Kumar’s appointment to the post of CEC had been compromised and tainted and said that these allegations, even if assumed to be factually correct, do not amount to any act of misconduct attributable to the CEC.
The order noted that there was a pending litigation over Kumar’s appointment, and the Supreme Court had not provided any interim relief. She said it is an indisputable fact that the vast majority of CECs, since the 1950s, had worked in government before being appointed to the CEC. Such experience has never been treated as a basis for a presumption of bias, the order said. “Therefore, no basis for misconduct under this charge has been presented by the signatory members,” the order said.
The order dismissed the second charge related to Kumar’s statements during a press conference regarding allegations of irregularities in preparing electoral lists and that the Central Election Commission applied different standards to members of two different political formations. “We must realize that the Chief Electoral Commissioner and other Election Commissioners are doing very sensitive work, which necessarily involves political parties. If any allegation is made in relation to the work of the Chief Electoral Commissioner or any other members of the Commission, it is desirable that such allegations or suspicions be addressed during the periodic press conferences held for several decades,” the order said.
“This ensures transparency in the work of the Election Commission. Differences of opinion about the appropriateness of such responses, in the absence of clear and provable evidence of abuse of power or unlawful conduct, cannot rise to the level of impeachable misconduct.”
It is essential that the accusations are not merely speculative or baseless, the order said. “On their face, these allegations do not appear to fall within the meaning of ‘misconduct’ for which a constitutional officer can be subject to removal,” the order said.
