The Union Ministry of Law and Justice on May 12 announced Rajiv Kumar, the current Election Commissioner, will take over as the next Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) from May 15. Kumar will take charge from CEC Sushil Chandra, who is due to retire.
About Rajiv Kumar
- He was appointed by the President in pursuance of clause (2) of Article 324 of the Constitution.
- Rajiv Kumar, an officer of the 1984 batch of the Indian Administrative Service of the Bihar/Jharkhand cadre, superannuated from the IAS in February 2020.
- Rajiv Kumar took charge as the Election Commissioner of the Election Commission of India (ECI) on September 1, 2020.
- Prior to assuming charge in the Election Commission, Kumar had been the chairman of the Public Enterprises Selection Board. He joined as the PESB chairman in April 2020.
About Election Commission
- The CEC and the Election Commissioners have a tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier, and enjoy the same status and receive salary and perks as available to Supreme court judges.
- The proviso to Article 324 (5) of the Constitution safeguards the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) from arbitrary removal.
- The CEC can be removed from office only by the order of the President, just like a judge of the Supreme Court.
- However, the same constitutional provision is silent about the procedure for removal of the two Election Commissioners. It only provides that they cannot be removed from office except on the recommendation of the CEC.
- The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering Union and State election processes in India.
- The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies in India, and the offices of the President and Vice President in the country.
- It was established in accordance with the Constitution on 25th January 1950 which is celebrated as national voters’ day.
- According to the Constitution, the Election Commission shall consist of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and such number of other election commissioners, if any, as the President may from time to time fix.
- Initially, the Election Commission had only one election commissioner (EC) but after the Election Commissioner Amendment Act 1989, it has been made a multi-member body.
- Currently, it consists of the CEC and two Election Commissioners.
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