Election Commissioners

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to examine a plea seeking recall of its recent split verdict on whether challenges to the 2023 law governing the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners should be referred to a larger Constitution bench. On September 23, a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma gave split opinions on whether a batch of pleas challenging the validity of a 2023 law that excludes the Chief Justice of India from the panel for selecting the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs) should be referred to a larger Constitution bench. It had said due to a difference of opinion, the matter be placed before CJI Surya Kant on the administrative side for constitution of a bench of appropriate strength for an effective and authoritative adjudication. On Wednesday, a bench comprising the Chief Justice of India and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana was told about the recall application by senior

The ECI has asked 20 states and UTs where SIR is complete to compare pre- and post-SIR rolls, identify voters left out and enrol them through Form 6

A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking criminal prosecution of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged violations of statutory duties in connection with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The plea filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi through advocate Chand Qureshi seeks that decisions, guidelines and software modifications allegedly undertaken by Kumar without the concurrence of the two election commissioners be declared unconstitutional and void. It also seeks a declaration that all such decisions relating to the SIR are illegal and restoration of the original Form 6. It further seeks an inquiry by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the alleged deletion of around 13 crore voters from electoral rolls during the revision exercise. The petitioner has sought criminal prosecution of Kumar, Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg and Seema Khanna, IT head of the Election Commission (EC), alleging violation of their statut

The Election Commission urgently needs internal reform

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday dismissed a plea challenging the Election Commission's directive to deploy central government and PSU employees for vote counting in the West Bengal Assembly elections. Polling for the 294-member Assembly was held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with counting scheduled for May 4. Dismissing the petition, Justice Krishna Rao held that there was no illegality in the EC's decision to appoint counting supervisors and assistants from central government or PSU employees instead of state government staff. "It is the prerogative of the office of the EC to appoint the counting supervisor and counting assistant either from the state government or the central government," the court observed. The petition was filed by the TMC, which challenged an April 30 communication issued by the Additional Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, stating that at least one of the counting supervisor or assistant at each table should be a central government or PSU ...

Senior IAS officers Pawan Kumar Sharma and V Lalithalakshmi were on Saturday appointed as Deputy Election Commissioner and Joint Secretary in the Vice President's Secretariat, respectively, according to an official order. Sharma is a 1999-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre and Lalithalakshmi is a 2008-batch officer of the West Bengal cadre. Sharma, Additional Secretary in the Defence Ministry, has been appointed as Deputy Election Commissioner in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary to the government of India, an order issued by the Personnel Ministry said. The Centre also carried out a major Joint Secretary-level bureaucratic reshuffle, with 35 civil servants appointed to various government organisations. Aman Sharma, an Indian Postal Service officer of the 2002 batch, has been named as Joint Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, the ministry order said. Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer Tarun Kumar Pithode has been appointed as J

CEC Gyanesh Kumar has said voter list updates are legally required before elections, amid opposition concerns over the Special Intensive Revision exercise in Bihar

CEC Gyanesh Kumar will address the global IDEA Stockholm Conference on electoral integrity on 10 June, amid domestic concerns over the neutrality of the Election Commission of India

Kumar stated that in accordance with the Constitution, the electoral laws and rules issued therein, the Election Commission always stood with the voters

Here's all you need to know about the changed process of selection of Chief Election Commissioner and issues surrounding it

Delhi Assembly election 2025 is set to take place tomorrow, Feb 5. As per the ECI, voters can cast their ballots without a physical voter ID card if they have these documents at the polling booth

The Supreme Court on Monday fixed February 12 to hear pleas against the appointment of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners under the 2023 law. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh said it would decide the issue on merit and finally. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for Association for Democratic Reforms NGO, said the matter was listed on February 4 but not likely to be heard due to other matters. Bhushan, who referred to the superannuation of incumbent Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar on February 18, said the matter required an urgent hearing as it was covered by the 2023 verdict of the Constitution bench. He said the 2023 verdict ruled the election commissioners couldn't only be appointed by the government, but by an independent committee comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition and Chief Justice of India or else it would be a threat to the electoral democracy. "They have brought an Act by which they have removed t

The district election officer (DEO) of New Delhi constituency has forwarded various complaints of violations of model code of conduct, filed by AAP and its convener Arvind Kejriwal against BJP candidate Parvesh Verma, to the police for investigation. The complaints filed by AAP's legal cell and Kejriwal alleged setting up of job camps under "Har Ghar Naukari" campaign for registrations, and distribution of Rs 1100 by BJP and Verma, officials said. The election officers in separate reports said that flying squads formed to check model code of conduct violations did not find any camps or pamphlets as alleged by the AAP. The New Delhi district election officer in an action taken report submitted to Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Delhi, has said that police authorities were asked to investigate the facts of the allegations of job camps and distribution of Rs 1100 and take action as per Representation of Peoples Act. It also said that instructions were issued to take preventive steps

It will be court's opinion versus the legislative power to enact law, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said as it posted the pleas challenging the appointment of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners under the 2023 law on February 4. A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Ujjal Bhuyan was informed by advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing an NGO, the incumbent Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar was set to superannuate on February 18, and a new CEC would be appointed under the new law, if the court didn't intervene. Bhushan said the top court in its the March 2 2023 verdict set up a panel comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition and the CJI to appoint the CEC and election commissioners (EC). "However, under the new law the selection committee will comprise the Prime Minister, a union cabinet minister, the Leader of Opposition or the leader of the largest opposition party in Lok Sabha. They have removed CJI from the selection .

Forced to make an emergency landing in a remote village near Munsiyari due to bad weather on Wednesday, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar spent the night in an uninhabited house in sub-zero temperature along with two pilots and two poll officials. The helicopter took off on Thursday morning once the weather cleared and reached the Munsyari Tehsil headquarters safely, sources said. Kumar was scheduled to visit the remote polling stations in Pithoragarh and 14 nearby villages to gain first-hand knowledge of the challenges faced by the election officials and the electorate in the high-altitude terrain, the sources said. According to Pithoragarh District Magistrate Vinod Girish Goswami, the chopper, which was on its way to Milam Glacier, left at around 1 pm on Wednesday. However, due to the cloudy weather and low visibility, it landed on a helipad in Ralam village, 42 km away, at around 1.30 pm, he said. In the past too, Kumar had explored the remote polling locations in t

The Election Commission on Wednesday dubbed the 'Haryana results unacceptable' statement of senior Congress leaders as "unheard in the rich democratic heritage" of the country and far from a legitimate part of free speech. In a letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, the EC said such remarks by party leaders Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera move towards "an undemocratic rejection of the will of the people" expressed in accordance with the statutory and regulatory electoral framework. The Commission said it has also noted the statements of Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, terming the Haryana results as "unexpected" and that the party proposes to analyse the same and approach the EC with its complaints. The EC said it has received a request seeking a meeting time for a 12-member official INC delegation, including those who made the "results unacceptable" statement. "Proceeding on a fair assumption that the statement of the party president is the formal party position on the electoral .

The Election Commission on Friday said it has initiated preparations for forthcoming assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand with updation of electoral rolls in these states. July 1, 2024 will be the qualifying date. For the just-held Lok Sabha polls, the voters list was updated with January 1 as the qualifying date. Qualifying date helps establish number of voters on a given date in a state or in the country. The term of the existing legislative assemblies in the three states are going to end on November 3, November 26 and January 5, 2025 respectively and elections to these legislative assemblies are required to be conducted before the completion of their terms. Besides, assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are also to be conducted for constituting a new house after delimitation of constituencies, the EC said. "Witnessing the huge participation of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, the Commission has also directed

The Election Commission on Thursday dedicated the "violence-free" Lok Sabha polls to Mahatma Gandhi and asserted that it rebuffed attempts to vitiate the electoral process with "rumours and baseless doubts" that could have fomented unrest across the country. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and S S Sandhu visited the Raj Ghat, the Mahatma Gandhi's memorial, after presenting the notification constituting the 18th Lok Sabha to President Droupadi Murmu. In a statement, CEC Rajiv Kumar pledged that the EC's service to the nation, now in its 76th year, will go on with "unflinching" dedication. "We rebuffed all attempts to vitiate the electoral process with rumours and baseless doubts which could have fomented unrest. The 'Will' and 'Wisdom' of the common man who has enormous faith in democratic institutions of India have prevailed. We are morally and legally obliged to always uphold the same by conducting free, fair and inclusive ...

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar along with two election commissioners on Thursday presented details of newly elected Lok Sabha members to President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here. The meeting is part of the process for the formation of the next or the 18th Lok Sabha. CEC Rajiv Kumar, accompanied by Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, met the President at 4.30 pm, a statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan said. "A copy of the notification issued by the Election Commission of India, in terms of Section 73 of the Representation of People's Act, 1951, containing the names of the members elected to the House of the People following the General Elections to the 18th Lok Sabha, was submitted by them to the President," it said. The section mandates "publication of results of general elections to the House of the People and the State Legislative Assemblies and of names of persons nominated thereto". President Murmu congratulated th

Election Commission on Tuesday appointed special observers for administrative, security and expenditure monitoring purposes in several states to ensure a level playing field during the upcoming elections. The special observers -- former civil servants with brilliant track record -- have been tasked with overseeing the electoral process with strict vigilance, particularly against the backdrop of challenges posed by the influence of money, muscle and misinformation, the poll panel said. Special Observers (General and Police) have been deployed in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Bihar where the population is more than seven crore and also in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha where the simultaneous elections to the Assemblies are to be held, the poll authority said. Special Expenditure Observers have also been deployed in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha, it said.