Former Civil Servants, Activists Seek Impeachment Of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, List Six Charges

A delegation of former civil servants and social activists on Monday submitted a chargesheet and impeachment notice against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of “proved misbehaviour” and seeking his removal under Article 324(5) of the Constitution.

The move came amid reports of police barricading roads leading to the Election Commission of India (ECI) ahead of the delegation’s proposed submission.

The notice alleged a “sustained pattern” of disregard for law and constitutional duties, abuse of authority and conduct that, according to the delegation, undermined the integrity and independence of India’s electoral system.

The delegation called on Kumar to resign and said that, failing his resignation, it was serving an impeachment notice on behalf of “We, the People of India” and seeking his removal from office.

The chargesheet contains six allegations.

What Are The Six Charges Against Gyanesh Kumar?

1. Undermining Collective Functioning Of ECI

The delegation alleged that Kumar took decisions in the name of the ECI without adequate consideration by the full commission.

It specifically cited the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the exercise proceeded without sufficient discussion, consultation, rule-making or recorded proceedings.

The notice also referred to alleged objections by two Election Commissioners over decisions purportedly taken without their knowledge, as well as meetings allegedly held without proper agendas and minutes.

2. Unauthorised Changes To Form 6

The second allegation concerns changes to Form 6, which is used to apply for inclusion of names in electoral rolls.

The delegation alleged that a modified version of the form was used despite objections within the commission that the changes were “unauthorised and illegal”.

It further alleged that voters whose names had previously appeared on electoral rolls were required to state that they were seeking inclusion for the first time.

3. Alleged Unlawful Use Of ECINET

The delegation alleged that ECINET was deployed in a manner that undermined the statutory authority of Electoral Registration Officers, who are responsible for additions, deletions and corrections to electoral rolls.

It questioned the legality of the system and referred to the subsequent decision to establish an expert committee to examine its compliance with electoral laws and rules.

4. Alleged Mass Disenfranchisement Through SIR

The notice described the SIR exercise as an “unprecedented exercise in mass disenfranchisement”.

The delegation alleged that the process placed excessive responsibility on voters to establish their eligibility and was implemented without adequate preparation, training and safeguards against wrongful exclusion.

It claimed that 13.3 crore names had already been removed from pre-SIR electoral rolls and projected that the gap between the adult population and electorate could reach 15 crore or more.

The delegation further alleged that women, poor people, migrants, minorities and elderly voters could be disproportionately affected.

5. Conduct Allegedly Affecting ECI’s Impartiality

The fifth allegation concerns what the delegation described as conduct creating an apprehension of political partisanship.

The notice cited Kumar’s alleged public interventions involving opposition leaders, what it described as “combative political rhetoric”, and decisions related to the SIR exercise.

The delegation alleged that such conduct raised questions about the ECI’s perceived neutrality.

6. Alleged Breach Of Statutory Duty

The final allegation invoked Section 32(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.

The delegation alleged that changes to electoral forms, the alleged circumvention of Electoral Registration Officers, the use of ECINET, alleged concealment of records and failure to address known violations indicated a prima facie pattern of wilful breach of official duty.

Who Signed The Notice?

The signatories include former Delhi lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung, former home secretary G K Pillai, former Government of India secretary Amitabha Pandey, Jayashree Mukherjee, IAS (retd), Ashok Sharma, IFS (retd), former Central Information Commissioner Yashovardhan Azad and former civil servant Ashish Joshi.

Aishe Ghosh, N Sai Balaji, Dinesh Srirangarajan, Sandeep Yadav, Amrita Johri, Anjali Bhardwaj and Yogendra Yadav are also listed among the signatories.

The delegation argued that the allegations amounted to “proved misbehaviour” under Article 324(5) and called for Kumar’s removal from the post of Chief Election Commissioner.

The allegations are contained in the chargesheet and impeachment notice submitted by the delegation and, by themselves, do not establish wrongdoing by Kumar.