New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan on Monday, April 6, rejected the impeachment motion against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, with no reasons cited for the rejection, drawing sharp condemnation from the Opposition, which accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of “mocking Parliament.”
The rejections came through virtually identical bulletins issued by both Houses, stating that “after due consideration of the notice of Motion and a careful and objective assessment of all relevant aspects and issues involved therein,” the presiding officers, exercising powers under Section 3 of the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, had “refused to admit the said notice of Motion.”
It marked the first time in Indian parliamentary history that a motion had been moved seeking the removal of a sitting Chief Election Commissioner. The notice, piloted by the Trinamool Congress (TMC), was signed by 130 Lok Sabha MPs and 63 Rajya Sabha members, well above the threshold of 100 and 50 signatures, respectively, required under the Judges (Inquiry) Act for the two Houses.
The 10-page notice, submitted on March 12, carried a chargesheet on seven counts, ranging from alleged partisan conduct and proved misbehaviour to mass disenfranchisement of voters. The Opposition also raised concerns over Kumar’s handling of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in states including Bihar and West Bengal, and alleged he had demonstrated partiality towards the BJP.
Under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, the CEC can only be removed in the same manner and on the same grounds as a Supreme Court judge. Following the admission of an impeachment notice, a motion to that effect must ultimately be passed in Parliament by a special majority.
The rejection, however, was not accompanied by any explanation from either presiding officer, a fact that drew immediate fire from the Opposition.
TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose said a detailed notice giving exact rules and factual examples of the CEC’s alleged misconduct had been submitted, yet the rejection came in a “tersely worded reply” with no reasons given. “Why are we not surprised,” she added.
TMC MP Derek O’Brien wrote on X, “Notice to remove CEC by Rajya Sabha MPs rejected. Reason? NO REASON GIVEN. BJP keep mocking our great Parliament. SHAME.”
Congress’s Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh also weighed in, making a veiled reference to former Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, who resigned suddenly from office last year. “We know what happened to the last Chairman of the Rajya Sabha who accepted a petition moved by opposition MPs,” he said.
The move against Kumar had been building for months.
Opposition parties first mulled an impeachment motion after his press conference last August, in which he denied allegations of vote theft, calling them attempts to “mislead the public” and “disrespect the Constitution.” The drive gained further momentum with growing protests over the SIR exercise, spearheaded by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “vote chori” campaign.
BJP leaders, however, had dismissed the Opposition’s effort, arguing that political parties should focus on electoral contests rather than targeting the Election Commission.
