Parliament is in session. There is a strong buzz in the corridors of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha that a clutch of Opposition parties will soon be moving a motion of removal against the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). If the motion to remove the CEC is filed (as I think it will be), this will be a first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the last 75 years, India has had 25 Chief Election Commissioners. Neither House of Parliament has ever brought a removal motion against the CEC. Never. Is the current CEC all set to hold a dubious record?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Process of removal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For the removal of the CEC, 100 members of the Lok Sabha or 50 members of the Rajya Sabha have to submit a notice to the Speaker or Chairman. If the notice is admitted, a three-member committee is formed to investigate the same. If the committee finds the grounds valid, the motion is taken up for consideration. It needs to be passed by a special majority (a majority of the total membership of the House and at least two-thirds of the members present and voting) of both the houses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Constitution prescribes that the CEC can be removed from his office on the same grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court \u2014\u201cproved misbehaviour or incapacity\u201d. The term \u201cproved misbehaviour\u201d has been interpreted to include deliberate abuse of powers, partisan exercise of constitutional functions favouring one political formation over others, and actions that undermine public confidence in the independence and impartiality of the CEC, amongst other attributes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Independence of the ECI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n During the Constituent Assembly debates, B R Ambedkar had said, \u201cthe election machinery should be outside the control of the executive government\u201d. This was reiterated by the Supreme Court during the Anoop Baranwal v Union of India case of 2023, when it ruled that the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs) should be selected by a three-member committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Disregarding SC<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A few months later, the Union government cocked a snook at the SC and came up with the CEC Act. Section 7 of the Act fundamentally changed this structure by creating a selection committee consisting of the Prime Minister (chairperson), the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and, incredulously, a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This arrangement gives the executive a majority (two out of three members), allowing the Union to control appointments to the ECI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A glorious past<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Election Commission has a long and famed record. Sukumar Sen, West Bengal\u2019s Chief Secretary and later India\u2019s first Chief Election Commissioner, was given the enviable task of conducting India\u2019s first general election. More than 170 million Indians were eligible to vote. Of these, around 85 per cent were illiterate. 16,500 clerks, 56,000 presiding officers and over 2 lakh policemen were deployed. Bridges were built over rivers to reach villages in the hills. Naval vessels sailed to reach small islands. This was the largest democratic exercise in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n S Y Quraishi, the 17th CEC, expanded the Systematic Voters\u2019 Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) in order to achieve voter literacy. He also took categorical stands against the negative effects of the media boom such as paid news and opinion polls. The 23rd CEC of India, Sunil Arora, capitalised on technology to create a database of more than 930 million electors, and launched a nationwide phone helpline number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A first<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n How, then, did we reach this day in 2026 when opposition parties are now unitedly considering taking the unprecedented action of attempting to remove the CEC? Even though the notice can be moved in just one House, it seems the Opposition is mulling moving it in both Houses. Strong messaging. Members of the Opposition are using every constitutional tool available to protect the sanctity of India\u2019s glorious institutions. However, if the notice is not taken up by the Union government, doubts will be raised about a tacit understanding between the executive and the CEC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1991, there was an uproar in Parliament to remove T N Seshan as the CEC. But no formal notice was ever filed. In 2006, the BJP-NDA submitted a memorandum seeking the removal of Navin Chawla as an Election Commissioner. Here, too, no parliamentary process was involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n