HighLights
  1. Delegation served "People's Notice of Impeachment" to CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
  2. Notice demands resignation, citing six charges of constitutional duty disregard.
  3. Accusations include ECI functioning undermined, mass voter deletions, Form 6 alteration.

A delegation comprising former civil servants, activists and concerned citizens on Monday served a "People’s Notice of Impeachment" to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, demanding his immediate resignation and removal from office.

Yogendra Yadav, who was part of the delegation, announced the move in a post on X (formerly Twitter). The delegation included former Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, former Union Home Secretary G K Pillai, former Union Secretary Amitabha Pandey, former Ambassador Ashok Sharma, and former Intelligence Bureau Special Director Yashovardhan Azad, alongside several other activists and concerned citizens.

The notice, addressed to Kumar at Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi, accuses the CEC of "wilful disregard of law and constitutional duty, abuse of authority," and actions that it said were "destructive of the integrity of India’s electoral democracy".

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Invoking Article 324(5) of the Constitution, which protects the Chief Election Commissioner from removal except on grounds of "proved misbehaviour or incapacity", the group outlined six specific charges against Kumar.

6 Key Charges Outlined In People's Notice Of Impeachment

Undermining Collective Functioning of ECI: The first charge alleges that Kumar undermined the collective functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI) by exercising powers without placing matters before the Commission for consideration. It referred to Special Intensive Revision (SIR), noting that two Election Commissioners had placed objections on record to major decisions taken without their knowledge.

Unauthorised Alteration of Form 6: The second charge concerns the alleged unauthorised alteration of statutory Form 6. The notice states that citizens excluded from electoral rolls were forced to sign a declaration claiming they were applying for inclusion for the very first time.

Displacement of Statutory Registration Officers: The third charge alleges that the deployment of the ECINET digital platform displaced or undermined the statutory authority of Electoral Registration Officers regarding additions, deletions, and corrections to voter rolls.

Mass Voter Deletions Under SIR: The fourth charge alleges that the SIR exercise was launched without adequate preparation, training, or corrective mechanisms. It claims that 13.3 crore names were deleted from pre-SIR rolls, alleging that these deletions disproportionately affected women, low-income communities, migrants, minorities, and the elderly.

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Apprehension of Political Partisanship: The fifth charge alleges that Kumar's conduct has created widespread apprehension of political partisanship, compromising the independence and impartiality of the Election Commission.

Wilful Breach of Official Duty: The sixth charge cites Section 32(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, alleging a pattern of wilful breach of official duty in the preparation and revision of electoral rolls.


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