What Happened
- The joint Opposition — led by the INDIA bloc — is preparing to move a notice in the Rajya Sabha seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
- The trigger is controversy over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, which the Opposition alleges is being conducted in a manner that could disenfranchise voters, particularly minorities.
- The Trinamool Congress (TMC), which governs West Bengal, has been particularly vocal, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee warning of impeachment proceedings against the CEC.
- No CEC has ever been successfully removed in India's constitutional history since 1950.
Static Topic Bridges
Article 324 and the Constitutional Status of the Election Commission
Article 324 of the Constitution vests the superintendence, direction, and control of the preparation of electoral rolls and the conduct of all elections to Parliament, State Legislatures, and the offices of President and Vice-President in the Election Commission of India (ECI).
- Composition: The ECI consists of the Chief Election Commissioner and such number of other Election Commissioners as the President may fix. Currently, there are two other Election Commissioners alongside the CEC.
- Appointment: The President appoints the CEC and other Election Commissioners — in practice, on the advice of the Council of Ministers.
- Security of tenure (CEC): The CEC cannot be removed from office except through a process identical to that for removing a Supreme Court judge — by a Presidential order passed on an address of both Houses of Parliament supported by a special majority.
- Security of tenure (ECs): Other Election Commissioners can be removed from office on the recommendation of the CEC alone — a significantly weaker protection.
- Articles 325–329 deal with related electoral provisions: no discrimination in voter registration (325), adult suffrage (326), delimitation (327), power to make laws on elections (328), and bar on judicial interference in electoral matters (329).
Connection to this news: The Opposition's move tests the procedural robustness of Article 324's protections — the removal procedure is deliberately arduous to insulate the CEC from political pressure, yet that same procedure is what the Opposition is now invoking against the incumbent CEC.
Removal of the CEC: Procedure Under Article 324(5)
Article 324(5) of the Constitution explicitly states that the CEC shall not be removed from his office except in like manner and on like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court.
- Grounds for removal: Proved misbehaviour or incapacity (same as for a Supreme Court judge under Article 124(4)).
- Motion initiation: A notice for removal must be signed by at least 100 members of Lok Sabha or at least 50 members of Rajya Sabha — it can be introduced in either House.
- Majority required: The motion must be passed by each House with a special majority — a majority of the total membership of the House (absolute majority) AND a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the House present and voting.
- Inquiry: Before the motion is voted upon, the matter is typically referred to a committee of inquiry (similar to the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968 process for Supreme Court judges).
- Historical record: No CEC has ever been removed since the Constitution came into force in 1950.
Connection to this news: The Opposition plans to move the notice in Rajya Sabha, requiring 50 RS members' signatures. The practical challenge is that even if the notice clears the procedural threshold, mustering the two-thirds majority needed for passage is extremely difficult given the NDA's parliamentary strength.
CEC and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023
Parliament enacted this law in December 2023, replacing the earlier Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991. It codifies for the first time the statutory framework for appointment of the CEC.
- Selection Committee: CEC and ECs are now appointed by the President on the recommendation of a Selection Committee comprising (i) the Prime Minister (Chairperson), (ii) a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the PM, and (iii) the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha (or leader of the largest opposition party if no formal LoP exists).
- Controversy: The original bill included the Chief Justice of India as a member of the Selection Committee (following the Supreme Court's direction in Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India, 2023). The final enacted law replaced the CJI with a Cabinet Minister — drawing criticism that it tilts control toward the ruling party.
- Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India (2023): A five-judge Constitution Bench unanimously held that until Parliament enacted a law, the CEC and ECs would be appointed by the President on the advice of a committee comprising the PM, the LoP, and the CJI. The 2023 Act superseded this interim arrangement, removing the CJI.
- Term: Six years or until age 65, whichever is earlier. No reappointment.
Connection to this news: Gyanesh Kumar was appointed CEC under the 2023 Act's selection committee process — Opposition parties had objected to his appointment at that stage as well, making the current removal notice a continuation of that political dispute.
Electoral Roll Revision and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR)
Electoral roll management is one of the core functions of the Election Commission under Article 324, governed by the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
- Electoral rolls are prepared and maintained under Part III of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
- Types of revision: Summary revision (annual, minor corrections) and intensive revision (comprehensive door-to-door verification).
- Special Intensive Revision (SIR): An extraordinary exercise ordered by the ECI to comprehensively update rolls — typically ordered when there are concerns about large-scale inclusion of ineligible voters or exclusion of eligible ones.
- The ECI's power to order SIR flows from Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (power to revise electoral rolls) read with Article 324.
- Opposition concerns in West Bengal: Allegations that the SIR disproportionately targets Muslim-majority constituencies and could be used to alter voter demographics ahead of elections.
Connection to this news: The SIR in West Bengal is the immediate trigger for the removal notice — the Opposition frames it as an improper exercise of ECI authority, while the ECI maintains it is a routine statutory function to clean voter rolls.
Key Facts & Data
- Article 324(5): CEC removal requires the same process as removing a Supreme Court Judge — proved misbehaviour or incapacity, special majority in both Houses.
- Special majority for removal: Absolute majority (majority of total membership) + two-thirds majority of members present and voting — in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
- Rajya Sabha threshold for notice: 50 members' signatures required to introduce a removal motion.
- Lok Sabha threshold for notice: 100 members' signatures required.
- No CEC has ever been removed since the Constitution came into force in 1950.
- Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India (2023): Five-judge Constitution Bench; directed CJI to be on selection panel pending law — superseded by 2023 Act.
- 2023 Act selection committee: PM + Cabinet Minister + Leader of Opposition (CJI removed from the original SC-directed composition).
- Gyanesh Kumar: Appointed CEC in February 2025 under the 2023 Act's new selection process.
- ECI composition: CEC + 2 Election Commissioners (Gyanesh Kumar, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu as of 2025).
- West Bengal SIR: Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls — the immediate flashpoint for removal proceedings.