In an unprecedented parliamentary maneuver, 193 opposition lawmakers from the INDIA bloc submitted formal notices on Friday seeking the impeachment and removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The motion, which secured 130 signatures from the Lok Sabha and 63 from the Rajya Sabha, marks the first time a sitting head of the Election Commission of India has faced such a coordinated legislative challenge.
The 10-page impeachment notice outlines seven specific charges against Kumar, centering on allegations of partisan conduct and mass voter disenfranchisement. The move occurs just weeks before the commission is expected to announce the schedule for critical Assembly elections in several states, injecting immediate volatility into national politics and capturing the attention of the world monitoring the region’s democratic processes.
The primary grievance cited by the opposition coalition stems from the Election Commission’s recent Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Lawmakers, heavily led by the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, accuse the commission under Kumar’s leadership of manipulating the revision process to delete genuine voters and unfairly benefit the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
The formal charges detailed in the submission include “deliberate obstruction of investigation of electoral fraud” and “partisan and discriminatory conduct in office.” The submission of the notice surpasses the constitutional requirement of 100 signatures in the lower house and 50 in the upper house required to initiate the removal process.
Removing a Chief Election Commissioner in India is governed by Article 324(5) of the Constitution, which mandates an impeachment process identical to that of a Supreme Court judge. The procedure requires a special majority of two-thirds of members present and voting in both Houses of Parliament to pass on grounds of proven misbehavior or incapacity.
The opposition INDIA bloc does not currently hold the required numerical strength in parliament to independently pass the motion against the ruling National Democratic Alliance. The notices now sit with the presiding officers of both houses, who hold the authority to either admit or reject the motion for further parliamentary investigation.
Kumar, a 1988-batch Kerala cadre Indian Administrative Service officer, assumed office on February 19, 2025. His tenure has faced continuous scrutiny from opposition parties following his appointment under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act of 2023. That legislation removed the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel and granted the executive branch greater control over the appointment process.