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First Principles IAS · Current affairs

The monthly magazine, October 2026 · Polity and Governance › Election Commission and the conduct of elections

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Two Commissioners dissent and the Supreme Court questions the Chief Election Commissioner's lifelong immunity

LeadPrelims and Mains31 Oct 2026

Why in news

  • In October 2026 the two Election Commissioners, who had written 14 dissent notes on how the Chief Election Commissioner runs the Commission, became the centre of a public fight over the Election Commission of India.
  • Protests across the country demanded the Chief Election Commissioner's resignation over the deletions in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
  • The Supreme Court issued notice on petitions seeking his suspension. It asked why the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners Act, 2023 gives the Commissioners lifelong immunity from court proceedings, a protection that even judges do not have.
  • The Chief Justice of India agreed to consider recalling the split verdict of September, in which two judges differed on whether they could hear the challenge to the 2023 Act. The plea says one of the two judges did not disclose that his son was a standing counsel for the Commission, a lawyer retained to argue its cases.

Background

How the Commission is built

  • Article 324 gives superintendence, direction and control of elections to the Election Commission. The figure traces its growth from one member to three.
  • In **T.N. Seshan v. Union of India (1995) a Constitution Bench held that the Commission decides unanimously where it can and otherwise by majority**. The Chief Election Commissioner has no higher status in decisions.

Who can remove whom

  • The Chief Election Commissioner: only in the manner of a Supreme Court judge
  • The other Commissioners: only on his recommendation, which does not bind the government

Who appoints

  • In **Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India (2023) the Court put the Chief Justice of India on the selection panel until Parliament made a law. The 2023 Act replaced him with a Union Cabinet Minister**. The September Lead explains the challenge to that Act.
The Election Commission: from one member to three, and the fights inside Article 324 fixes no number of members. Parliament and the Court have shaped the rest. October 2026 in rose. 1950 A single member Commission: the Chief Election Commissioner alone 1989 Two Commissioners added, removed by the government in 1990 1993 Three members since October 1993 1995 T.N. Seshan: decisions by majority, the Chief Election Commissioner has no higher status 2008 The Chief Election Commissioner recommends removing a Commissioner. The government declines 2023 Anoop Baranwal puts the Chief Justice on the selection panel, the Act replaces him with a Minister Sept 2026 Split verdict on the 2023 Act, a Constitution Bench sought Oct 2026 14 dissent notes, the Court questions lifelong immunity Who can remove whom The Chief Election Commissioner: only like a Supreme Court judge. The other two Commissioners: only on his recommendation, which the government may decline. The immunity clause of the 2023 Act No proceedings for official acts, even after leaving office. The 1991 law had no such clause. A judge asked why the Commission should have what judges do not.
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Who is protected from court proceedings, for what and for how long The 2023 Act beside the President, Governors and judges. Rose: the protection the Supreme Court questioned in October 2026 The President and Governors No criminal proceedings while in office, under Article 361. The protection ends with the term of office. Judges Protection for judicial acts only: what a judge does in deciding a case. No shield for acts outside the judicial role. The Commissioners, 2023 Act The Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners: civil and criminal proceedings barred for acts done in their official role. The bar lasts for life, after they leave office. Added in December 2023 after a Telangana court ordered a criminal case against the then Chief Election Commissioner. The 1991 Act had no such clause. At the October 2026 hearing a judge remarked that such protection "is perhaps only for the President". A separate challenge to the clause is pending.
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The dissent inside the Commission

  • The two Commissioners wrote most of their 14 notes after the Chief Election Commissioner had already taken a decision. The notes record that nobody told them. Their complaint is about consultation, not about who gives the final approval.
  • In a joint affidavit in October the Chief Election Commissioner and both Commissioners told the Supreme Court that the Commission decides by majority, that files pass through both Commissioners first, and that urgent approvals are taken electronically and recorded later.
  • The affidavit admitted that the online Form 6 "could be construed" as amended. The Commission decided in October to separate the statutory form from the Special Intensive Revision declaration. The affidavit did not say who approved the change in July.

The immunity question

A separate challenge to the immunity clause is pending. The figure sets the Commissioners' protection beside what the President, Governors and judges have.

Analysis

Independence has two halves, and October tested both.

  • September was about who appoints the Commission
  • October is about how it decides and who can hold its members to account

A multi member body is a check only if the members use it.

  • The Seshan rule lets two Commissioners outvote the Chief Election Commissioner
  • The 14 notes recorded disagreement after the event instead of forcing a vote
  • A check that is never exercised protects nobody

The Constitution protects tenure unevenly.

  • It shields the Chief Election Commissioner like a judge but leaves the other Commissioners removable on his recommendation
  • Neither direction gives the two Commissioners a secure base from which to dissent
  • Immunity after office is unusual. A lifelong bar on proceedings against a body that decides who may vote invites the question the Court asked.

The way forward

  • Settle the challenge to the 2023 Act, filed in early 2024, through a Constitution Bench without further delay.
  • Record dissent openly and publish the minutes on a fixed schedule, as the Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee does.

Exam lens

  • Prelims:
    • Article 324
    • A three member body since 1993
    • S.S. Dhanoa (1991) and T.N. Seshan (1995) on the status of the Chief Election Commissioner and majority decisions
    • Removal of the Chief Election Commissioner only in the manner of a Supreme Court judge; the other Commissioners only on his recommendation
    • The 2023 Act's selection committee: the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and a Union Cabinet Minister
  • Mains: "The credibility of the Election Commission depends as much on how its members are chosen and removed as on how it decides." Discuss with reference to the events of 2026.

Asked before: Prelims 2017 · Mains 2026 GS2 · Mains 2017 GS2

Show the questions
  1. Prelims 2017: Consider the following statements: 1. The Election Commission of India is a five-member body. 2. Union Ministry of Home Affairs decides the election schedule for the conduct of both general elections and bye-elections. 3. Election Commission resolves the disputes relating to splits/mergers of recognised political parties. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
  2. Mains 2026 GS2: Is the right to vote a fundamental right? Discuss the position of the Election Commission of India while undertaking the revision of electoral rolls. Can it also examine the question of citizenship of voters?
  3. Mains 2017 GS2: To enhance the quality of democracy in India the Election Commission of India has proposed electoral reforms in 2016. What are the suggested reforms and how far are they significant to make democracy successful?

Connects to

Sources
  • The Hindu, 3 October 2026
  • Frontline, 13 October 2026
  • The Hindu, 5 October 2026
  • The Hindu, 7 October 2026
  • Frontline, 24 October 2026
  • The Indian Express, 4 October 2026
  • The Indian Express, 27 October 2026
  • The Hindu, 26 October 2026
  • Frontline, 7 October 2026

Settled facts (dates of Acts, constitutional provisions, standing definitions) are from standard references.

Read as a case study: The judge who did not disclose a family link

Filed under: Election Commission and the conduct of elections · The monthly magazine, October 2026