Published : 11 Oct 2026, 07:00 PM
Updated : 11 Oct 2026, 07:00 PM
Pressure is mounting on India’s Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign over allegations of irregularities in voter lists, raising questions about how the country’s top election official can legally be removed.
Opposition parties, including the Congress and youth group Cockroach Janta Party, intensified their demands after The Indian Express reported that two of the three election commissioners had raised objections at least 14 times over voter-list revisions in the past 10 months.
As protests spread across Delhi, The Hindu has explained the constitutional provisions governing the appointment, removal and legal protection of the chief election commissioner and other members of the Election Commission.
How Are Election Commissioners Appointed?
Article 324 of India’s Constitution gives the Election Commission responsibility for overseeing, directing and controlling elections.
It provides for the president to appoint the chief election commissioner and other commissioners under a law enacted by parliament.
In a 2023 ruling in the Anup Baranwal v Union of India case, a five-judge Supreme Court bench stipulated that, until parliament passed legislation, appointments should be recommended by a committee comprising the prime minister, the opposition leader in the Lok Sabha and the chief justice of India.
Parliament subsequently enacted the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, which took effect in January 2024.
The law replaced the chief justice with a Union cabinet minister nominated by the prime minister.
A search committee led by the Union law minister draws up a list of five candidates for consideration.
The new arrangement has been challenged in the Supreme Court.
On Sept 23, a two-judge bench delivered a split verdict on whether the cases should be referred to a larger constitutional bench.
How Can CEC Be Removed?
Article 324 provides the chief election commissioner with the same protection against removal as a Supreme Court judge.
Removal is possible only on grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity, following the parliamentary procedure prescribed under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.
Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha must pass the removal motion by the required majorities.
Approval by only one house is insufficient. The president can then issue the removal order.
Other election commissioners have different protections. They cannot be removed without the chief election commissioner’s recommendation.
Can CEC Be Arrested?
Section 16 of the 2023 law protects current and former chief election commissioners and election commissioners from civil or criminal proceedings over acts done, steps taken or statements made in the discharge of their official duties.
However, the provision does not explicitly prohibit arrest, nor does it mention investigations or police custody. It should not, therefore, be interpreted as blanket immunity from arrest in every circumstance.
The protection is also limited to conduct connected with official duties.
It does not automatically extend to acts unrelated to those responsibilities.
