Action against election officials only after its approval, says EC

Action against election officials only after its approval, says EC

Move To Protect Officers From ‘Motivated Harassment’

Bharti.Jain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:  16.01.2021

Keen to protect chief electoral officers (CEOs) of states and Union Territories from “motivated harassment” stemming from political vendetta for having acted in a free, fair, impartial and fearless manner during polls, the Election Commission on Friday said any disciplinary action against the officials would require clearance.

An EC order said states and UTs should “invariably” obtain its approval before initiating any disciplinary action against CEOs and senior officers during their tenure and also up to one year after they have completed their terms as poll officials.

The EC has drawn on the Supreme Court order of September 21, 2000, upholding that neither can any action be initiated by a state government against officers on election duty nor can the government refuse to act on the EC’s advice to act against errant officials, and a subsequent DoPT order in line with this position.

The EC, in a communication to the cabinet secretary, state chief secretaries, personnel secretary and state CEOs also directed that state and UT governments shall not reduce facilities like vehicle, security and other amenities provided to the office of CEO for proper discharge of his/her duties.

Even though the EC did not specify that it was issuing the direction by virtue of its powers under Article 324 (power of direction and control of elections), it did state that “the commission is sanguine in the expectation that all concerned shall strictly adhere to this regimen in letter as well as in spirit”.

“The EC’s initiative for their protection is timely and appropriate advice,” former chief election commissioner N Gopalaswami told TOI.

The EC direction comes in the wake of instances of “victimisation” of CEOs, including one where then Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu had barged into the then state CEO G K Dwivedi’s office during Lok Sabha poll 2019 and reportedly abused and pushed him for ordering transfers of senior IAS and IPS officers. Dwivedi maintained a stoic silence and stood his ground without getting provoked. He was later rewarded by the EC on National Voters’ Day.

The EC, in its letter on Friday, recalled how CEOs — an extension of the commission in states/UTs and who are on deputation to the EC under Section 13CC of the RP Act, 1950, and Section 13A of the RP Act, 1951 — were targeted “many a times” by slapping disciplinary cases on flimsy grounds for their earlier tenures in the state government after completion of their term.

Full report on www.toi.in

‘NEED STAMP OF APPROVAL’

EC outlines timeline for publishing criminal antecedents thrice by candidates for RS

New Delhi: The Election Commission has outlined the three occasions on which candidates for polls to the Rajya Sabha and state legislative councils shall need to publish details of criminal cases, in accordance with an earlier direction of the Supreme Court. The timeline, as indicated in a letter sent to the president, general secretary or chairperson of all recognised national and state political parties on January 11, requires the criminal antecedents to be published thrice— first within the first two days of withdrawal of nomination, second between the third and fourth days, and third from the fifth to sixth day, prior to the date of poll. TNN