A 14-member group alleged six instances of “proved misbehaviour” by Gyanesh Kumar but said police barricades prevented it from delivering its notice in person.
A group of retired senior bureaucrats, civil society activists and academics has sought the removal of India’s Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of six instances of “proved misbehaviour.” The 14-member delegation described its complaint as a “people’s impeachment.”
The group planned to deliver its notice to Kumar at the Election Commission of India’s office on Monday, October 5. It said heavy barricading and a large police deployment prevented the delegation from reaching the building, so members emailed their chargesheet instead.
The notice invokes Article 324(5) of the Constitution, which says the Chief Election Commissioner may be removed only for “proved misbehaviour or incapacity.” The group alleges that Kumar undermined the Election Commission’s collective functioning, made unauthorised changes to statutory Form 6, centralised electoral-roll functions through the ECINET platform and oversaw a Special Intensive Revision that it says disenfranchised voters.
The delegation included former Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung, former Union Home Secretary G.K. Pillai, former Union Secretary Amitabha Pande, former ambassador Ashok Sharma, former Intelligence Bureau special director Yashovardhan Azad, retired civil servant Jayashree Mukherjee, and activists Aishe Ghosh, N. Sai Balaji, Yogendra Yadav and Anjali Bhardwaj.
Bhardwaj said the Commission was functioning illegally and that Kumar had lost the moral authority to remain in office. The group argues that Form 6 changes increased the burden on people seeking voter registration and that the Commission’s handling of the revision weakened its independence and public credibility. Those are allegations in the group’s notice. The report did not include a response from Kumar or the Commission.