A Symbolic "Public Impeachment" of the CEC: How a Chief Election Commissioner Can Actually Be Removed
On 31 October 2026, opposition parties held a symbolic "public impeachment" of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Gyanesh Kumar, in New Delhi. A motion listing six charges was adopted by a show of hands. Voters who said their names had been deleted from the electoral rolls spoke at the event.
The main charge was that about 13.2 crore voters had been deleted through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists (a fresh, house-to-house check of the rolls). These are allegations; they have not been tested by any inquiry.
The next day, 1 November 2026, the same parties held a large march and rally at Ramlila Maidan. The demands included the CEC's resignation, an end to the alleged wrongful deletions, transparent elections and a return to paper ballots.
A "public impeachment" has no legal effect. The Constitution allows a CEC to be removed only by Parliament, under Article 324(5), in the same way as a Supreme Court judge.
Earlier in 2026, the first-ever formal notices to remove a CEC were given in Parliament against the same CEC. The Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman refused to admit them on 6 April 2026, so they never reached an inquiry.
Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls
An electoral roll is the official list of voters for a constituency; only people on it can vote. A Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is a fresh, house-to-house preparation of this list. Booth Level Officers visit homes, voters fill in new forms, and the old list is checked again from the start, instead of only adding or removing a few names. The Election Commission of India (ECI) orders it under Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) of each constituency takes the legal decision on each name.
The charges in the symbolic "public impeachment" centre on the SIR and on how many names were left out of the rolls. The legal routes to fix wrong deletions are claims and appeals before election officials, and petitions in the Supreme Court, which is still hearing questions such as the new Form 6 declaration and the "logical discrepancy" category.
Appointment and Removal of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners
The Election Commission of India is led by a Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and, at present, two Election Commissioners (ECs). Because the Commission must run elections fairly between the government and the opposition, the Constitution protects the CEC from easy removal. Under Article 324(5), the CEC can be removed only in the same manner and on the same grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court: proved misbehaviour or incapacity, through a motion passed by both Houses of Parliament with a special majority.
The "public impeachment" borrowed the language of removal but had no legal force, because only Parliament can remove a CEC, and only through the judge-style process with a special majority in both Houses. The earlier formal attempt in March 2026 stopped at the very first step, when the presiding officers refused to admit the notices. The symbolic event shows the gap between public protest and the strict legal test that the Constitution sets for removal.
- Symbolic "public impeachment" of the CEC: 31 October 2026, adopted by a show of hands; six charges listed
- Main allegation: deletion of about 13.2 crore voters through the SIR (not tested by any inquiry)
- Mass rally at Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi: 1 November 2026
- CEC removal: Article 324(5), same manner and grounds as a Supreme Court judge (Article 124(4)); Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968
- Notice threshold: 100 Lok Sabha members or 50 Rajya Sabha members
- Special majority: majority of total membership plus two-thirds of members present and voting, in each House
- Election Commissioners: removable only on the recommendation of the CEC
- First-ever CEC removal notices: 12 March 2026 (130 Lok Sabha, 63 Rajya Sabha signatures); refused on 6 April 2026
- Supreme Court upheld the ECI's power to hold the SIR: 27 May 2026