Election commissioners Sukhbir Sandhu and Vivek Joshi object to IT oversight

Election Commissioners Question IT Oversight

Two Election Commissioners wrote letters in July to Cabinet Secretary TV Somanathan objecting to the removal of oversight on the Election Commission of India’s IT division, hindustantimes.com reported. The communication from S S Sandhu and Vivek Joshi focused on administrative protocol rather than poll policy, challenging a decision by Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg.

Garg Altered Reporting Structure to Bypass Deputy Election Commissioner

Garg had altered the reporting structure so that files from Director General of IT Seema Khanna bypassed the Deputy Election Commissioner and went directly through him. Sandhu and Joshi argued in their separate July letters that this change violated established procedures. They noted that Sanjay Kumar, the DEC handling Khanna’s files previously, possessed deep familiarity with the electoral process. According to hindustantimes.com, the Election Commission stated that the contested work redistribution order was never actually implemented, leaving the original DEC oversight intact.

Cabinet Secretary Forwards Letters to DoPT

Because Sandhu and Joshi filed the complaints in their individual capacities rather than on behalf of the full panel, Somanathan declined to act directly. The cabinet secretary instead forwarded the submissions concerning Garg, a Himachal cadre IAS officer, to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).

Garg Cites Hierarchy Issues for Administrative Shift

Garg met with the two Election Commissioners to defend his restructuring, explaining that the adjustment resolved a hierarchy conflict. Khanna had received a promotion earlier in the year from a level 14 to a level 15 officer, making her senior to Kumar. Meanwhile, Kumar repatriated to his home cadre in August, leaving Garg to directly manage his former responsibilities, which currently routes Khanna’s files through Garg to the commissioners.

Administrative Friction Coincides with Electoral Roll Revision Scrutiny

The administrative friction coincided with public scrutiny over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

Verification Review of ECINET Portal Set for October

At the same time, the poll body removed an additional SIR declaration requirement from Form 6 on the ECINET portal for states where the revision process has concluded. ECI stresses collective decisions, reviews ECI-Net. “Whatever letters they have written, if they had to write one, they should have written it to the Ministry of Law and Justice,” he added.

Gyanesh Kumar Allegedly Urged Jiji Thomson to Join BJP

Tensions mounted further after former Kerala Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson disclosed that CEC Gyanesh Kumar — while still serving as a senior bureaucrat — had attempted to persuade him to join the BJP, contest the Lok Sabha elections on a party ticket from Kerala, and promised a central ministerial berth if he won, stated the editorial.