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Lok Sabha Speaker, Rajya Sabha chairman reject impeachment motion against poll body chief Gyanesh Kumar

April 06, 2026 4 min read Polity & Governance GS Paper 2
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What Happened

  • The Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha Chairman rejected a first-of-its-kind impeachment motion against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
  • The motion was signed by 193 Members of Parliament — 130 from Lok Sabha and 63 from Rajya Sabha — from the INDIA bloc.
  • The 10-page notice listed seven charges including partisan conduct during elections, obstruction of electoral fraud investigations, and mass disenfranchisement of voters.
  • Opposition MPs specifically criticised the CEC's handling of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar and the upcoming West Bengal elections.
  • The Rajya Sabha Chairman exercised powers under Section 3 of the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968 to refuse admission of the motion; the Lok Sabha Speaker similarly declined.

Static Topic Bridges

Article 324 and the Constitutional Status of the Election Commission

The Election Commission of India derives its authority from Article 324 of the Constitution, which vests superintendence, direction, and control of elections in the Commission. Article 324(5) specifically protects the CEC's tenure by stipulating that the CEC shall not be removed from office except in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court. This protection is designed to insulate the election machinery from executive interference and preserve its independence.

  • The CEC can be removed only on grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity — the same grounds as for a Supreme Court judge.
  • A motion for removal must be signed by at least 100 Lok Sabha members or 50 Rajya Sabha members before it can be admitted.
  • Once admitted, a three-member inquiry committee (including a sitting Supreme Court judge, a sitting High Court Chief Justice, and a distinguished jurist) investigates the charges under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.
  • The final removal requires a special majority: majority of the total membership of each House and at least two-thirds of members present and voting, in the same session of both Houses.

Connection to this news: The Speaker and Chairman rejected the motion at the admission stage itself, finding it did not meet the threshold required under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968 — preventing the motion from even reaching the inquiry committee stage.

Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023

The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 replaced the Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991. It governs how commissioners are appointed and removed.

  • Appointment: The President acts on the recommendation of a Selection Committee comprising the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the PM, and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha (or the leader of the largest opposition party).
  • A Search Committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary prepares a panel of names for the Selection Committee.
  • Eligibility: Candidates must hold or have held a post equivalent to Secretary to the Government of India.
  • Tenure: Six years or until the age of 65, whichever comes earlier.
  • Removal of Election Commissioners (other than CEC) can only be done on the recommendation of the CEC, unlike the higher protection available to the CEC.

Connection to this news: The 2023 Act replaced the Supreme Court-collegium-style selection that the Supreme Court had directed in the Anoop Baranwal case (2023), replacing the CJI from the selection panel with a Cabinet Minister, which was itself a source of controversy about the independence of the appointment process.

Electoral Roll Revision and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR)

An electoral roll is the list of registered voters. The Election Commission has statutory powers under the Representation of the People Act, 1950 to prepare, revise, and correct electoral rolls. Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is a process by which the Commission conducts a door-to-door verification of voter eligibility, particularly before elections to states with large or fluctuating populations.

  • The Representation of the People Act, 1950 (Sections 21–28) governs electoral roll preparation and revision.
  • Summary revision (annual) and intensive revision (periodic, usually before elections) are the two main modes.
  • Model Code of Conduct and the Commission's own guidelines regulate how SIR is conducted close to election announcements.
  • Deletion of names from electoral rolls without adequate notice or verification amounts to disenfranchisement, which is a violation of the fundamental right to vote (as read into Article 19 and Article 21 by courts).

Connection to this news: The opposition's charge of "mass disenfranchisement" relates to concerns that the SIR exercise in Bihar (conducted by the current CEC) resulted in the deletion of large numbers of voter names, particularly from minority and migrant communities, ahead of state elections.

Key Facts & Data

  • This was the first-ever impeachment motion moved against a Chief Election Commissioner in independent India.
  • The motion was signed by 193 MPs, the largest such opposition mobilisation against a constitutional authority in recent memory.
  • Under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, the Speaker/Chairman has discretion to reject a motion at the admission stage if it does not satisfy procedural or substantive requirements.
  • Gyanesh Kumar is a 1988-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre; he was appointed CEC in February 2025.
  • The Election Commission of India currently has three members: one CEC and two Election Commissioners.