The Cabinet Secretariat refused to address the grievances submitted by two Election Commissioners regarding the conduct of a senior official, noting that their letters were written in an "individual capacity" and that in the absence of "any official communication from the Commission as a whole, any action at this stage may be inappropriate", according to documents disclosed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Records made available to RTI campaigner Commodore Lokesh K. Batra (retd) show that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi sent two independent letters on July 29 to India's top civil servant, Cabinet Secretary T.V. Somanathan, raising serious concerns regarding Senior Deputy Election Commissioner (Sr DEC) Maneesh Garg, an IAS officer posted to the poll body by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) since September 2, 2024.
The Indian Express had reported in September that both Sandhu and Joshi wrote separately to Somanathan after internal orders were issued regarding work allocation. The Commissioners feared this order threatened to centralise powers at the Election Commission headquarters to insert, delete, and alter voter records, rather than leaving those functions with state-level authorities.
In an official response on September 26, the Election Commission (EC) clarified that the contested work reallocation directives drafted by the officer were never enforced, following instructions issued by the two Commissioners.
The poll authority maintained that the representations sent by Sandhu and Joshi to the Cabinet Secretary strictly related to an officer on deputation, rather than matters regarding internal policy or the information technology division.
"Both the ECs have stated that Shri Garg, after assuming the charge as link officer of DEC (Admn), has issued an order regarding work allocation of equivalent and senior officers to him without discussing the revised work allocation with the Commission or the officers concerned. Further, the aforementioned ECs have stated that this has happened despite repeated oral and written instructions to all concerned officers against taking such actions without prior discussion/approval of the Commission," an internal Cabinet note provided under the RTI response said.
The Commissioners had contended that Garg issued a directive altering work responsibilities among senior deputy election commissioners, deputy election commissioners, directors general, and officers of parallel rank without consulting or intimating the Commission or the Commissioners involved.
They maintained that this step was taken in spite of repeated verbal and written directives prohibiting such structural changes without preliminary Commission discussion or clearance. Joshi added that when he asked for the relevant file from the Administration Division, it was not provided to him.
The Commissioners stressed that Garg's actions constituted an outright breach of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023.
A Cabinet note prepared on August 3 concerning the complaint noted: "In this connection, we may request the Chief Election Commissioner for his opinion on the issue. Accordingly, a draft DO is put up for approval, please."
The following day, an additional draft note advised that taking steps based solely on letters from two Election Commissioners—without a formal corporate submission from the Commission in its entirety—could be viewed as "interference in the functioning of the constitutional body".
"The Commission is a Constitutional Body and is insulated from executive interference by design to ensure that it functions independently and in a transparent manner. The working and functioning of the Commission are governed by the rules and guidelines of the Election Commission. The above communications are from the Election Commissioners in their individual capacity and, while they must be taken with due seriousness, they cannot be seen as a formal communication from the Commission as a whole," the note affirmed.
The note added that while Garg was deputed via the ACC, he is presently an officer serving the Election Commission of India; consequently, his professional conduct and duties must be regulated and supervised strictly under the Commission's internal guidelines.
Under Section 18 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, the Commission's business must be conducted unanimously wherever possible, with any divergence of opinion resolved by majority vote, the Cabinet note observed.
"Election Commissioners have sent these communications for appropriate action; however, in the absence of any official communication from the Commission as a whole, any action at this stage may be inappropriate. It may also be construed as interference in the functioning of the Constitutional Body. Hence, it would be appropriate to send acknowledgement to both Election Commissioners with a copy to PPS to CEC for information of CEC," the record highlighted.
The draft note signed by Cabinet Secretary Somanathan was also endorsed to the Secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and the Establishment Officer to record the development, which will "enable it to be taken into account in future decision-making regarding the officer".
A formal acknowledgement letter signed by Somanathan was subsequently dispatched to both Election Commissioners.
