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VIDEO EXPLAINER | 9 OCTOBER 2026
Can a Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) be removed from office? Yes, but only through the same demanding process used to remove a judge of the Supreme Court. The question came into the news after 12 March 2026, when, for the first time ever, notices seeking a CEC’s removal were given in both Houses of Parliament: one signed by 130 Lok Sabha MPs and one by 63 Rajya Sabha MPs. On 6 April 2026, the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman refused to admit both notices, so the process ended at its second step.
The rule: Article 324(5)
The first proviso to Article 324(5) says the Chief Election Commissioner “shall not be removed from his office except in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court”, and his service conditions cannot be varied to his disadvantage after appointment. The “like manner” is found in Article 124(4), which governs Supreme Court judges. There are only two grounds: proved misbehaviour or incapacity.
Note the vocabulary: the correct term is a removal motion. The Constitution uses “impeachment” only for the President (Article 61).
The four steps
Step 1: notice. Under section 3 of the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, a notice of motion must be signed by at least 100 Lok Sabha MPs or at least 50 Rajya Sabha MPs. Parliament made the 1968 Act under Article 124(5), which lets it regulate this procedure.
Step 2: admission. The Speaker or the Chairman may admit or refuse the notice. This is where the 2026 notices stopped: both presiding officers refused to admit them under section 3. The matter never reached an inquiry committee or a vote.
Step 3: inquiry. If a notice is admitted, a three-member inquiry committee is formed: a Supreme Court judge (or the Chief Justice of India), a High Court Chief Justice, and a distinguished jurist. The motion goes to a vote only if the committee finds the charge proved.
Step 4: special majority and the President’s order. Each House must pass an address, in the same session, clearing two tests: (a) a majority of the total membership of that House, and (b) a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting. The address is then presented to the President, who passes the removal order.
Only the CEC has this shield
The second proviso is different. Any other Election Commissioner or a Regional Commissioner “shall not be removed from office except on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner“.
In Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India (2 March 2023, a five-judge Constitution Bench), the majority declined to extend the CEC’s shield to the Election Commissioners. It left it to Parliament, acting in its constituent capacity (that is, by constitutional amendment), to consider extending the protection.
There is one precedent for the second proviso. In January 2009, CEC N. Gopalaswami sent the President a recommendation to remove Election Commissioner Navin Chawla. The recommendation was not accepted: the government rejected it, and Chawla went on to become CEC on 20 April 2009. A CEC’s recommendation is necessary but not sufficient: the President acts on ministerial advice.
The 2023 Act: appointment and tenure
The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 (No. 49 of 2023) received assent on 28 December 2023. (Anoop Baranwal had earlier set an interim committee including the Chief Justice of India, to hold “till a law is made by the Parliament”.) Under the Act, the President appoints on the recommendation of a Selection Committee (section 7) of the Prime Minister (chair), the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha (or the leader of the single largest opposition party), and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister. A Search Committee headed by the Minister of Law and Justice prepares a panel of five names (section 6); the Bill as introduced had named the Cabinet Secretary. The term is six years or until age 65, whichever is earlier, with no re-appointment (section 9). On removal, section 11 simply repeats the Article 324(5) shield and adds nothing new.
Why the bar is set so high
No CEC has ever been removed, and no Supreme Court judge has ever been removed either. The first motion against a Supreme Court judge, against Justice V. Ramaswami, was defeated in the Lok Sabha in May 1993. The difficulty is deliberate: security of tenure lets the Election Commission conduct elections without pressure from whoever holds a majority.
Constitutional and legal framework
- Article 324(5), first proviso: the CEC is removable only in like manner and on like grounds as a Supreme Court judge; service conditions cannot be varied to his disadvantage.
- Article 324(5), second proviso: other Election Commissioners are removable on the CEC’s recommendation.
- Article 124(4): address by each House, majority of total membership + two-thirds of present and voting, same session; grounds = proved misbehaviour or incapacity.
- Article 124(5) and the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968: notice (100 LS / 50 RS MPs), admission, three-member committee.
- Act 49 of 2023: Selection Committee (s.7), Search Committee (s.6), six years or age 65 (s.9), removal (s.11).
- Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India (2 Mar 2023, five judges): shield not extended to Election Commissioners.
The CLAT angle
- Legal Reasoning: given a vote count, check both voting tests separately to decide whether the address passes.
- Know the four gates in order: notice, admission, inquiry committee, special majority in both Houses, then the President’s order.
- Contrast the CEC (judge-level shield) with the other Election Commissioners (removable on the CEC’s recommendation).
- Watch the terminology trap: “impeachment” is the constitutional word only for the President (Article 61).
- GK: who sits on the Selection Committee and who heads the Search Committee under the 2023 Act.
Key facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Removal provision | Article 324(5), first proviso |
| Procedure borrowed from | Article 124(4) (Supreme Court judges) |
| Grounds | Proved misbehaviour or incapacity |
| Notice threshold | 100 Lok Sabha MPs or 50 Rajya Sabha MPs (Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968) |
| Inquiry committee | SC judge or CJI + HC Chief Justice + distinguished jurist |
| 2026 notices | 12 Mar 2026; 130 LS MPs and 63 RS MPs; refused at admission on 6 Apr 2026 |
| Other Election Commissioners | Removable on the CEC’s recommendation |
| Anoop Baranwal | 2 Mar 2023; five-judge bench |
| 2023 Act tenure | Six years or age 65, whichever is earlier |
| Removals so far | No CEC and no Supreme Court judge ever removed |
Memory hook
“N-A-I-V: Notice, Admit, Inquire, Vote.” The four gates of a removal motion. The 2026 notices stopped at A (admission). And for the vote, remember “Half of all, two-thirds of those voting”: a majority of total membership plus two-thirds of members present and voting, in both Houses, in the same session.
Sources
The Constitution of India (Articles 61, 124, 324); the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968; the Gazette of India notification of Act 49 of 2023 and its India Code entry; the judgment in Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India (2023); NewsOnAir and Onmanorama (6 to 7 Apr 2026) on the refusal of the notices; Governance Now (2010) on the 2009 recommendation; SC Observer on removal motions against judges.
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