Kolkata, Sept. 25 -- Opposition demands for the arrest and removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar have put the legal protection available to a serving CEC under scrutiny.
Section 16 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, says no court shall entertain or continue civil or criminal proceedings against a CEC or Election Commissioner for an act done or spoken while, or in the course of, acting or purporting to act in discharge of official duty.
The provision does not expressly mention arrest, FIR or investigation. Legal experts caution against treating it as a blanket bar on arrest. The key question is whether the alleged conduct has a connection with the CEC's official functions. If it falls outside that sphere, the applicability of Section 16 would have to be determined by a court.
The issue has gained significance amid Opposition demands for Kumar's arrest over allegations concerning the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
Removal is governed separately by Article 324(5), under which the CEC can be removed only in the same manner and on the same grounds as a Supreme Court judge - proved misbehaviour or incapacity.
A removal motion requires at least 100 Lok Sabha or 50 Rajya Sabha members. If admitted, an inquiry follows.
Both Houses must then pass the removal address by the prescribed special majority before the President can act.
Kumar faced such a motion in March, when 130 Lok Sabha members signed a notice. The Speaker refused to admit it. No CEC has so far been removed through this constitutional process.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.