Overview
- Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said on Thursday, Oct 22, that any new notice seeking removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar will be examined according to established parliamentary rules and procedures.
- The Constitution and the 2023 CEC Act require removal by Parliament using the same high‑threshold process as impeaching a Supreme Court judge, and the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968 mandates a three‑member inquiry committee if a motion is admitted.
- The Opposition has twice tried to initiate removal proceedings: the first set of notices was rejected by presiding officers and a second set of notices remains pending in the Rajya Sabha.
- Scrutiny of the Election Commission intensified after reporting that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded at least 14 objections to decisions on the Special Intensive Revision, and the INDIA bloc has planned a mass rally in Delhi on November 1 to press for rollback of the SIR and Kumar’s resignation.
- The standoff is political as well as legal: the BJP accuses opponents of seeking to 'grab power', the Opposition pushes repeal of immunity provisions in the 2023 law, and the procedural path Birla described means the conflict is likely to continue through parliamentary scrutiny and public protests.