Speakers Reject Impeachment Notices Against CEC Gyanesh Kumar

In New Delhi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan rejected on April 7, 2026, separate impeachment notices submitted by opposition members seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar from office. The notices, filed on March 12, were signed by 130 members of the Lok Sabha and 63 members of the Rajya Sabha, marking the first such attempt against a sitting CEC.

The 10-page documents invoked Article 324(5) of the Constitution, which stipulates that the CEC can only be removed through a process akin to that for a Supreme Court judge, on grounds of proven misbehavior or incapacity. They cited additional provisions from Article 124(4), Section 112 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, and the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968. The motions listed seven charges against Kumar, including allegations of partisan and discriminatory conduct in office, deliberate obstruction of investigations into electoral fraud, and mass disenfranchisement of voters.

Opposition parties, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam...