Election Commission's IT head Seema Khanna illegally removed from oversight
Two Election Commissioners stated that Manish Garg weakened the process by removing the oversight arrangement.
In letters written to Cabinet Secretary T.V. Somanathan by two Election Commission commissioners, serious questions were raised regarding the removal of the monitoring system of the Commission's Information Technology (IT) department. According to a report by Hindustan Times (HT), the complaints related to the inappropriate conduct of Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Manish Garg were centered around the decision to eliminate an important system for monitoring the operations of the Commission's Director General (IT), Seema Khanna.
Election Commissioner Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi wrote separate letters in July. The language of both letters is similar. While there is no direct mention of differences within the Commission, it is clearly stated that Garg's decision to remove the arrangement of sending files of the Director General (IT) through the Deputy Election Commissioner was a violation of rules.
Both commissioners stated that,
Seema Khanna's files used to go to former Deputy Election Commissioner Sanjay Kumar. Kumar was an experienced officer and had a good understanding of the entire electoral process. The letters stated that by removing this monitoring arrangement, Garg weakened the process.
This information is significant because the Election Commission had issued a clarification last week stating that the letters written to Somanathan were not related to any policy matter of the Commission or its IT department. According to the Commission, these letters were only related to the functioning of an officer on deputation at the Election Commission of India.
The Commission also stated that,
the order for redistribution of work issued by Garg was not actually implemented after the directives from both Election Commissioners. According to him, the monitoring of the IT department was never removed from the Deputy Election Commissioner.
However, the concerned Deputy Election Commissioner Sanjay Kumar returned to his parent cadre in August. He is an IAS officer of the Union Territory cadre. Now Garg is handling his responsibilities.
This means that Seema Khanna's files are now reaching the Election Commissioners through Garg. Election Commission officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, stated that Sanjay Kumar wanted to return to the Delhi government and therefore had requested to be relieved.
Seema Khanna and the IT department are already at the center of a major controversy. According to an investigative report by Indian Express, the new IT system implemented by Khanna and approved by the Election Commission has blocked access to the database for those officials responsible for adding or removing names from the voter list, including Electoral Registration Officers (ERO) and Deputy EROs.
In this context, the objections raised by both Election Commissioners regarding the monitoring system of the IT department become significant. HT sought responses from Sandhu, Joshi, and Garg regarding this matter, but none responded. The Election Commission also did not answer the questions.
The report mentions that the country's top bureaucrat Somanathan could not take action on these letters because both commissioners wrote them in their personal capacity. These letters were not sent on behalf of the entire Election Commission.
It is believed that,
Somanathan forwarded the complaints related to Garg, an IAS officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre, to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). The government believes that the purpose of these letters was more to inform rather than to demand action. Any action from the government could be seen as an interference in the autonomy of the Election Commission.
The DoPT has also not responded to this matter.
Garg had met both Election Commissioners to clarify his position. It is reported that he explained that the purpose of his decision was to resolve the issue related to the seniority of officials, as Seema Khanna was senior to Sanjay Kumar.
According to Election Commission officials, Seema Khanna was promoted from level 14 to level 15 earlier this year. Former colleagues at the National Informatics Centre (NIC) say she is a skilled professional and was part of the team that started the government's email system.
Some government officials believe that Garg's inappropriate conduct is actually linked to a structural problem. The 1991 law related to the service conditions of Election Commissioners and the functioning of the Commission clearly states that decisions of the Commission are taken by majority. In case of disagreement among commissioners during meetings or through files, each member's opinion is recorded.
For routine matters, work can be divided among commissioners. However, if there is a disagreement on a subject, or if any commissioner requests to present it before the entire Commission, it is mandatory to send it to the three-member Commission for a majority decision.