Opposition Submits Notice Seeking Impeachment Motion Against CEC Gyanesh Kumar

New Delhi: The opposition INDIA bloc has on Friday (March 13) submitted a notice seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, The Wire has learnt.

“The INDIA bloc is bringing the impeachment motion because his conduct has degraded the dignity of his post. Indian constitution has the provision that in such a situation, an impeachment motion can be brought,” said Congress MP Pramod Tiwari. 

“The CEC has left us no option but to do this. This is not against any particular person but to protect democracy. He has been acting like a frontal organisation of the BJP.”  

The Wire had reported on March 9 that the unprecedented move comes after opposition parties worked for “took two weeks”.

The notice was submitted just two days after the no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla was defeated on Wednesday (March 11). 

The CEC, according to the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, “shall not be removed from his office except in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court.”

According to the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968, a Supreme Court judge can be removed if an impeachment notice is given in either House of parliament. If the notice is given in the Lok Sabha it needs to be signed by at least 100 members, and if in the Rajya Sabha it needs to be signed by at least 50 MPs. The Speaker or Chairman can then decide whether to admit the motion or refuse to admit it.

If the motion is admitted, the speaker in the Lok Sabha or the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, as the case may be, will constitute a three-member committee. The committee shall comprise one judge from the Supreme Court, one from the high courts and a jurist.

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