Ex-Bureaucrats, Activists Demand CEC Gyanesh Kumar's Impeachment Amid EC Row: What Are 6 Charges Against Him?

A delegation of civil servants and social activists have moved a chargesheet and a notice of impeachment against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Monday, accusing him of “proved bishaviour". The delegation have backed their allegations on Article 324 and have issued six charges and have demanded the CEC’s removal.

The members of the delegation include former Delhi lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung, former home secretary G K Pillai, former secretary to the Government of India 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 as signatories.

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Know the six charges filed against the CEC:

The delegation charged CEC with undermining the functioning of ECI: The delegation claimed that CEC Kumar had taken several decisions without considering the stances of the full commission. The chargesheet made a special mention of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), alleging that it proceeded without sufficient discussion, consultation, rule-making or recorded proceedings.

The chargesheet also stated the incident wherein the two ECs objected over the decisions taken without their knowledge.

Unauthorised changes to form 6:The delegation alleged that a modified version of Form 6 was used despite objections within the commission that the changes were “unauthorised and illegal”. The members added that voters whose names had earlier appeared on electoral rolls were required to state that they were seeking inclusion for the first time.

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Illegitimate use of ECINET: According to the delegation, the way the ECINET was deployed had allegedly undermined the statutory authority of Electoral Registration Officers, who are responsible for additions, deletions and corrections in electoral rolls.

The matter has raised questions about the lawfulness of the system and has then cited the decision to set up an expert committee to examine its compliance with electoral laws and rules.

Mass disenfranchisement through SIR: The delegation referred to the SIR as “unprecedented exercise in mass disenfranchisement”. The notice stated that the SIR had put unnecessary pressure upon the voters to prove their eligibility.

The delegation highlighted that 13.3 crore names had already been deleted from pre-SIR rolls. The commission mentioned that the gap between the adult population and electorate could reach 15 crore or more.

The members alleged that the SIR has adversely affected the vulnerable sections of the society, including women, poor people, migrants, minorities and elderly voters.

SIR Not Being Fully Impartial: The delegation accused the CEC of creating a rhetoric of being one-sided. The notice cited his alleged public interventions involving opposition leaders and what it called “combative political rhetoric”, alongside decisions surrounding SIR.

“You can no longer be a referee in a game where you are widely perceived to be aligned with a player,” it alleged.

Breach of statutory duty: The sixth charge invoked Section 32(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.

The delegation claimed that the modification of electoral forms, bypassed Electoral Registration Officers, use of ECINE, undisclosed records and failure to address known violations showed a prima facie pattern of wilful breach of conduct.