On EC selection, Adhir dissents: ‘Shortlisted names were shared 8-10 minutes before meeting’

Chowdhury told The Indian Express that the government shared with him the names of six shortlisted candidates just “eight to 10 minutes” before the meeting started. The recently enacted Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act merely says, “A search committee headed by the Minister of Law and Justice and comprising two other members not below the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, shall prepare a panel of five persons for consideration of the Selection Committee, for appointment as the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners.”

“Eight to 10 minutes before the meeting started, the papers of the search committee were shared with me. I was given a short list of six names and Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal apprised the selection committee of the details of these six officers, the posts that they had held, their administrative record and all. It was said that the committee has to select two names from this list of six officers,” Chowdhury said.

The names of the six officers, according to Chowdhury, were that of Utpal Kumar Singh, Pradip Kumar Tripathi, Gyanesh Kumar, Indevar Pandey, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, and Sudhir Kumar Gangadhar Rahate.

“Amit Shah then proposed two names — that of Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbhir Singh Sandhu. The Prime Minister then asked whether I would like to say something. I told them that I had already asked the government to make available to me the bio-profiles of shortlisted candidates which would have helped me make an informed decision after going through their profiles,” Chowdhury said.

“But that was not done. I reached Delhi from my constituency last night. And to my surprise, I found an exhaustive list of 212 officers which was delivered at night. How am I supposed to find out details about 212 officers, details about their integrity, experience and administrative capability in such a short time? That is why I had asked for the bio-profiles of the short-listed candidates,” he said.

Chowdhury added, “So, I told the Prime Minister and Home Minister that I have been presented with a fait accompli. I told them you have the majority in the panel, you have an open field, you can do whatever you want. What can I do? And I told them that I would oppose it because there are procedural lapses. I told them that I have nothing against any individual. I don’t know Gyanesh Kumar or Sukhbir Singh Sandhu. I don’t have any friendship or enmity with them. Among the six was one from my home state of Bengal — Indevar Pandey. I know about him … He is considered a good and capable officer. But I told them it is about procedure. If the government wanted the Opposition to be part of the exercise, they should have done it properly so that I could also make a contribution,” he said.

“And if you want to take the Opposition for granted and make the entire exercise a mere formality, then what can I do?” the Congress leader went on to say. “So, I told them that you have proposed these two names..you are merely completing the formality … I will also complete the formality and record my dissent. I told them to take my dissent on record. And the dissent was about the procedural lapses. I am not a magician to find out and go through the details of 212 officers,” Chowdhury said.

“It is clear that they had made their mind on who to appoint and called the meeting just as a formality. It is clear that the government will appoint only a person of their choice,” he said.

Who are the new ECs?

Sandhu is a retired IAS officer who was from the 1988 batch of the Uttarakhand cadre and is the Secretary Lokpal at the Centre. On February 3, he was appointed the Secretary to the Lokpal on a one-year contract. His term was to run till February 4, 2025. Earlier, he served as Uttarakhand Chief Secretary and was the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) chairperson from 2019 to 2021. At the Centre, he also served in the Ministry of Education (formerly known as the Ministry of Human Resource Development).

Gyanesh Kumar is a retired IAS officer from the 1988 batch of the Kerala cadre. He retired as Cooperation Secretary on January 31. During his tenure, the Cooperation Ministry saw the enactment of the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) (Amendment) Act, 2023, and the formation of three new national cooperative bodies — the Bharatiya Beej Sahakari Samiti Limited (BBSSL), the National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL), and the National Cooperative Export Limited (NCEL).

Kumar has also served as the Parliamentary Affairs Secretary at the Centre. At the time of the Centre’s move to abrogate Article 370 in 2019, he was the Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs. During the UPA government, Kumar served as Joint Secretary (Defence Production) in the Ministry of Defence from 2007 to 2012.