New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan on Monday declined to admit separate notices moved by opposition members seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The notices, submitted in both Houses on March 12, 2026, accused the CEC of “partisan and discriminatory conduct in office”, along with “deliberate obstruction of investigation of electoral fraud” and “mass disenfranchisement”. Opposition parties have also alleged that recent actions by the Election Commission, particularly the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, were intended to benefit the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
According to an official communication issued by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, the notice signed by 63 members of the Upper House was examined under Article 324(5) of the Constitution. After reviewing the motion, the Chairman declined to admit it. “After due consideration of the notice of Motion and a careful and objective assessment of all relevant aspects and issues involved, the Chairman, Rajya Sabha… has refused to admit the said notice of Motion,” the statement said, citing powers under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.
A similar decision was conveyed by the Lok Sabha Secretariat regarding the notice signed by 130 Members of Parliament. The motion, also dated March 12, invoked Article 324(5) alongside Article 124(4), provisions of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, and the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.
The Speaker, after examining the submission, rejected the plea. The notification stated that the decision followed “a careful and objective assessment of all relevant aspects and issues involved”.
The rejection of the notices halts, at this stage, the opposition’s attempt to initiate proceedings against the Chief Election Commissioner.
Under the constitutional framework, the removal of a Chief Election Commissioner follows a process similar to that of a judge of the Supreme Court or a High Court. Such a step requires proof of “misbehaviour or incapacity” and must meet a high threshold in Parliament.
The developments come amid heightened political tensions over electoral processes, with opposition parties continuing to question the conduct of the Election Commission and its handling of voter roll revisions.