Stories
Why Has No Chief Election Commissioner Ever Been Impeached in India?
- •A Chief Election Commissioner has never been impeached in India due to exceptionally high constitutional bars designed to protect the independence of the Election Commission.
- •Technically, the term impeachment applies only to the President, while the process for a CEC is formally termed removal under Article 324(5) of the Constitution.
- •Removal requires strict grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity, along with an initiation by at least 100 Lok Sabha MPs or 50 Rajya Sabha MPs.
- •The process mandates an independent three-member judicial inquiry followed by a rigorous special majority vote in both Houses of Parliament.
- •Section 16 of the 2023 Act grants legal immunity to election commissioners from civil or criminal court proceedings for official actions taken in good faith.
Key Questions Answered
A Chief Election Commissioner has never been impeached in India because the constitutional threshold is set exceptionally high to protect the Election Commission's independence from political interference, and legally, the term impeachment applies exclusively to the President.
Under Article 324(5) and the Judges Inquiry Act of 1968, a CEC can only be removed for proved misbehaviour or incapacity. The process requires a formal parliamentary notice signed by at least 100 Lok Sabha or 50 Rajya Sabha MPs, an independent three-member judicial inquiry, and a subsequent special majority vote in both parliamentary houses before a presidential removal order is issued.
Section 16 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023 grants serving and former commissioners legal immunity from civil or criminal court proceedings for official actions taken in good faith. This shield protects them from lawsuits related to routine electoral duties like voter roll preparation and election scheduling, though it does not cover bad-faith actions.
