9 charges of ‘proven misbehaviour’: Opposition files fresh notice to remove CEC Gyanesh Kumar

This comes weeks after the notice for motion to impeach Gyanesh Kumar was rejected by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan.

The Opposition Friday submitted a fresh notice in Rajya Sabha seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, listing nine charges of “proven misbehaviour” and backed by 73 MPs from multiple parties.

According to sources, a new notice was submitted with “fresh grounds” for the removal of Kumar, with the coordination and collection of the notice handled by the TMC and Congress.

“We have submitted the notice with 73 signatures today afternoon. This time, we have given fresh grounds for the removal of the CEC. We have mentioned specific instances with regard to the CEC which are grounds for his removal from the post,” said a source privy to the matter.

Giving details of the notice, Congress communication in charge, and MP Jairam Ramesh said, “The grounds are proven misbehaviour constituted by acts and omissions committed on and after 15 March 2026,” said Ramesh.

“There are now nine specific charges against the CEC that have been documented in great detail and that simply cannot be denied or whitewashed away. His continuation is an assault on the Constitution. It is an absolute disgrace that the man continues to be in office to do the bidding of the PM and HM,” he added.

The first charge against Kumar is “continued partisan asymmetry in the enforcement of the model code of conduct”, under which the Opposition has mentioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation on April 18, saying that a complaint was submitted by Opposition parties, saying the address was in violation of the Model Code of Conduct and that the CEC took no action against it.

The second charge against Kumar levelled by the Opposition is “partisan and public denunciation of a recognised political party on the official social media handle of the Election Commission of India, referring to the poll body’s “straight-talk” post.

On April 8, ECI posted a rare statement on X targeting a political party. “ECI’s Straight-talk to Trinamool Congress… This time, the Elections in West Bengal would surely be: fear-free, violence-free, intimidation-free, inducement-free and without any raid, booth jamming and source jamming,” EC had posted.

The third charge is “administrative lapses evidencing institutional proximity to the ruling party — the Kerala seal incident”. The reference was to a letter by ECI to all political parties in Kerala that carried the BJP’s seal.

The fourth charge is that the CEC’s “conduct (is) unbecoming of a constitutional functionary”, which points to allegations of Kumar being rude to a TMC delegation on April 8.

The fifth charge is “mass disenfranchisement in West Bengal”: “deletion of approximately ninety-one lakh voters and judicial exclusion of approximately thirty-four lakh voters from the franchise”.

This comes weeks after the notice for motion to impeach Gyanesh Kumar was rejected by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan, who had both said that the allegations levelled by the Opposition members “lack the proof necessary to constitute misbehaviour which establishes a prima facie case for removal of Chief Election Commissioner”.

The Rajya Sabha Chairman had also said that “admitting removal motions based on administrative disagreements or political perceptions would jeopardise its very independence, the Constitution aims to safeguard”.

“These allegations, even if presumed to be factually correct, do not amount to any act of misbehaviour attributable to the Chief Election Commissioner,” the V-P had said.

In an effort led by the TMC, the Opposition had earlier submitted the impeachment motions against Kumar in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on March 12, with 130 MPs signing the former and 63 the latter. To be admitted, an impeachment motion needs to be signed by at least 100 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 50 in the Rajya Sabha.

After the notices for impeachment of Kumar were rejected by Parliament, Opposition parties had criticised the move, with TMC MP Derek O’Brien alleging a “mockery of our great Parliament”.

Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusing on religious minorities in India. A journalist for over eight years, Rehman moved to this role after covering Uttar Pradesh for five years for The Indian Express. During his time in Uttar Pradesh, he covered politics, crime, health, and human rights among other issues. He did extensive ground reports and covered the protests against the new citizenship law during which many were killed in the state. During the Covid pandemic, he did extensive ground reporting on the migration of workers from the metropolitan cities to villages in Uttar Pradesh. He has also covered some landmark litigations, including the Babri Masjid-Ram temple case and the ongoing Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute. Prior to that, he worked on The Indian Express national desk for three years where he was a copy editor. Rehman studied at La Martiniere, Lucknow and then went on to do a bachelor's degree in History from Ramjas College, Delhi University. He also has a Masters degree from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. ... Read More

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The Opposition Friday submitted a fresh notice in Rajya Sabha seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, listing nine charges of “proven misbehaviour” and backed by 73 MPs from multiple parties.

According to sources, a new notice was submitted with “fresh grounds” for the removal of Kumar, with the coordination and collection of the notice handled by the TMC and Congress.

“We have submitted the notice with 73 signatures today afternoon. This time, we have given fresh grounds for the removal of the CEC. We have mentioned specific instances with regard to the CEC which are grounds for his removal from the post,” said a source privy to the matter.

Giving details of the notice, Congress communication in charge, and MP Jairam Ramesh said, “The grounds are proven misbehaviour constituted by acts and omissions committed on and after 15 March 2026,” said Ramesh.

“There are now nine specific charges against the CEC that have been documented in great detail and that simply cannot be denied or whitewashed away. His continuation is an assault on the Constitution. It is an absolute disgrace that the man continues to be in office to do the bidding of the PM and HM,” he added.

The first charge against Kumar is “continued partisan asymmetry in the enforcement of the model code of conduct”, under which the Opposition has mentioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation on April 18, saying that a complaint was submitted by Opposition parties, saying the address was in violation of the Model Code of Conduct and that the CEC took no action against it.

The second charge against Kumar levelled by the Opposition is “partisan and public denunciation of a recognised political party on the official social media handle of the Election Commission of India, referring to the poll body’s “straight-talk” post.

On April 8, ECI posted a rare statement on X targeting a political party. “ECI’s Straight-talk to Trinamool Congress… This time, the Elections in West Bengal would surely be: fear-free, violence-free, intimidation-free, inducement-free and without any raid, booth jamming and source jamming,” EC had posted.

The third charge is “administrative lapses evidencing institutional proximity to the ruling party — the Kerala seal incident”. The reference was to a letter by ECI to all political parties in Kerala that carried the BJP’s seal.

The fourth charge is that the CEC’s “conduct (is) unbecoming of a constitutional functionary”, which points to allegations of Kumar being rude to a TMC delegation on April 8.

The fifth charge is “mass disenfranchisement in West Bengal”: “deletion of approximately ninety-one lakh voters and judicial exclusion of approximately thirty-four lakh voters from the franchise”.

This comes weeks after the notice for motion to impeach Gyanesh Kumar was rejected by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan, who had both said that the allegations levelled by the Opposition members “lack the proof necessary to constitute misbehaviour which establishes a prima facie case for removal of Chief Election Commissioner”.

The Rajya Sabha Chairman had also said that “admitting removal motions based on administrative disagreements or political perceptions would jeopardise its very independence, the Constitution aims to safeguard”.

“These allegations, even if presumed to be factually correct, do not amount to any act of misbehaviour attributable to the Chief Election Commissioner,” the V-P had said.

In an effort led by the TMC, the Opposition had earlier submitted the impeachment motions against Kumar in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on March 12, with 130 MPs signing the former and 63 the latter. To be admitted, an impeachment motion needs to be signed by at least 100 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 50 in the Rajya Sabha.

After the notices for impeachment of Kumar were rejected by Parliament, Opposition parties had criticised the move, with TMC MP Derek O’Brien alleging a “mockery of our great Parliament”.