Process Chief Election Commissioner can be removed

The CEC of India’s removal procedure is by design cumbersome to shield the ECI from the influence of men in power.

Constitutional Protection for the CEC

The bedrock of the CEC’s security is the provisions of Article 324(5) of the Constitution of India. It provides that the CEC can be removed from office only "in like manner and on the like grounds' as a judge of the Supreme Court. 

This means the removal procedure is the same as for a top judge, and involves two basic ingredients:

• Reason for Removal: Established “misbehaviour” or “incapacity.”
• Process to Remove:— —The motion should be sustained by two-third majority votes at each house of Parliament – Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. It takes a special majority — of the total number of members of each house and a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting.

The President of India is allowed to issue a removal order only when the prescribed threshold is met by Parliament. Here the President has no choice.

Lesser Protection for Other Election Commissioners

An important difference is that this strong shield is specific to the CEC. The President can remove other Election Commissioners (ECs) on the recommendation of the CEC. This distinction could result in a vulnerability in the commission’s collective autonomy.

The 2023 Act and Continuing Concerns

The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, reiterates the constitutional provisions. Nonetheless, it has not dispelled all worries around the ECI’s autonomy. Critics point to:

• The government’s majority in the selection committee for appointments.
• The inferior removal barriers to removal of ECs as compared to the protection border for CEC.
• The absence of a ban on former commissioners taking government jobs that might sway their decision making.

Proposed Reforms

In order to further strengthen the independence of ECI, suggestions for reforms such as adoption of a collegium system of appointment for CEC and Election Commissioners (ECs) (as was earlier recommended by the Supreme Court) and provision for making the removal process more rigorous for all ECs not just the CEC have been recommended. The difficult nature—a high bar—of a removal remains the primary backstop defending the CEC’s office from arbitrary political removal.