Election commissioners raised concerns over senior official’s work order, RTI documents show

The Cabinet Secretariat forwarded letters written by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi over the alleged misconduct of a senior election official to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar’s office and the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), according to documents obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

The two commissioners had written separately to Cabinet Secretary TV Somanathan on July 29, raising concerns over the functioning of Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg. The letters followed a work-allocation order issued by Garg on July 28, which the commissioners alleged had been made without consulting them.

According to the RTI response obtained by transparency activist Commodore Lokesh Batra (retd), a note prepared by the Cabinet Secretariat on August 3 proposed seeking Kumar’s opinion on the matter. A subsequent note dated August 4 stated that the letters had been sent by the commissioners in their individual capacities and did not constitute formal communication from the Election Commission of India (ECI) as a whole.

The Secretariat said taking action in the absence of an official communication from the commission could be construed as interference in the functioning of a constitutional body. It recommended acknowledging the letters and placing the matter on record with the DoPT for future decisions concerning the officer.

The Cabinet Secretary acknowledged receipt of the two letters on August 5. Copies of the acknowledgements were sent to the DoPT secretary, the department’s establishment officer and the principal private secretary to the CEC.

The dispute centred on changes to the allocation of work among senior election officials, including the routing of files relating to the commission’s information technology division. The commissioners alleged that Garg had issued the order without prior discussion or approval from the commission. Joshi also said a file he sought from the Administration Division had not been provided to him.

Both commissioners cited provisions of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, in their letters.

The development comes amid questions over differences within the election commission, including the functioning of its IT systems and access to electoral roll data. An investigation by The Indian Express had reported concerns over changes to the commission’s IT protocol and access to voter database functions by Electoral Registration Officers.

The ECI had earlier denied allegations of unilateral decision-making, maintaining that its decisions were taken unanimously or by majority, in accordance with the rules. In a statement on September 26, the commission said the letters concerned the functioning of an officer on deputation and did not relate to its policy matters or the IT division. It also said the revised work-allocation orders were not implemented following directions from the two commissioners.

The RTI response provides details of how the Cabinet Secretariat processed the letters and forwarded them to the CEC’s office, but the correspondence itself has not been fully made public.