New delhi : A delegation of former civil servants and activists served a chargesheet and notice seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The delegation tried to reach Nirvachan Sadan on Ashoka Road but due to blockade and no prior appointment they hold a press conference at Press club.
Among those in the delegation are former Delhi lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung, former Union home secretary GK Pillai, former government secretary Amitabha Pandey, retired IAS officer Jayashree Mukherjee, former ambassador Ashok Sharma, former Intelligence Bureau special director and central information commissioner Yashovardhan Azad, and former civil servant Ashish Joshi.
Activists and public figures including Aishe Ghosh, N Sai Balaji, Dinesh Srirangarajan, Sandeep Yadav, Amrita Johri, Anjali Bhardwaj and Yogendra Yadav were also part of the delegation.
The move comes amid mounting pressure on Gyanesh Kumar over allegations surrounding the Election Commission’s handling of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The controversy intensified after reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections to several decisions related to the SIR process. The ECI has maintained that differences and observations are part of institutional decision-making and has said its decisions were unanimous.
The development also comes on a day the Supreme Court issued a notice to the ECI, Gyanesh Kumar and the two Election Commissioners, while hearing a plea seeking Kumar’s suspension over the SIR row. The top court also sought records on whether disputed decisions were taken unanimously, by majority or solely by the CEC.
The Supreme Court, however, declined to immediately suspend Gyanesh Kumar. The Bench said it would first examine the Election Commission’s response and the relevant records before deciding whether any disputed decisions can stand.
The demand for Kumar’s removal is not new. Earlier this year, Opposition MPs submitted removal notices in both Houses of Parliament. A Lok Sabha notice signed by 130 MPs and a Rajya Sabha notice signed by 63 MPs were rejected by the presiding officers in April.
Under Article 324 of the Constitution, the CEC can be removed only in the same manner and on the same grounds as a Supreme Court judge – namely, proved misbehaviour or incapacity, through the parliamentary process.
