Chief Election Commissioner of India

About The Chief Election Commissioner of India

The Chief Election Commissioner of India is the topmost official of the Election Commission of India, which is a powerful autonomous authority responsible to conduct elections in India. There are two additional commissioners apart from the chief commissioner. Until 1989, there used to be a single election commissioner. The election commissioners are usually retired IAS officers appointed by the president of India, having a tenure of 6 years or up to the age of 65 years (whichever is earlier). Sunil Arora is the current Chief Election Commissioner of India.

In order to preserve the independence of the election commission, the constitution has set stringent and difficult measures to remove the chief election commissioner from his post. The procedure requires two-third majority of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on the basis of proved misbehavior and incapacity. No Chief election commissioner has ever been impeached in the past.

The additional election commissioners can be removed on the recommendation of the chief election commissioner. The president then takes a decision on the recommendation if he finds any merit in it. The election commissioners draw a salary equal to that of the supreme court judges. Therefore, the salary of an Election Commissioner is Rs. 2.50 Lakh per month besides other entitlements.

Chief Election Commissioner of India is the head of the Election Commission of the country. He is generally an Indian Civil Service member and is likely to be from the Indian Administrative Services. The Chief Election Commissioner of India is appointed by the President and once appointed it is extremely difficult to remove him from authority as it requires two-thirds of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha's votes against him. According to the Election Commission 1991 act, the salary of the Chief Election Commissioner of India is same as that of the Supreme Court Judge.

Roles and Responsibilities of Chief Election Commissioner of India

As the head of the apex election body, he sees that elections at the national and state level are conducted free and fair. The final decision for the disqualification of a political member or a party also lies with him. He also has the authority to pass a law regarding elections. He can also advise the President for the disqualification of any member.

Who is the Chief Election Commissioner of India?

Sunil Arora- The Current Chief Election Commissioner
Sunil Arora is a retired 1980 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre. He was appointed as the CEC in December 2018. During his 36 years of service as an IAS, Arora has served many key positions. The more recent positions include as a secretary in the Ministry of Information and broadcasting, and before that as a secretary in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India.

List of Chief Election Commissioners of India