Two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, wrote separate letters to Cabinet Secretary T. V. Somanathan on July 29, 2026, raising concerns about the conduct of a senior Election Commission official and seeking appropriate action, according to records disclosed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Source: The Hindu
The RTI reply, given to activist Commodore Lokesh K. Batra (retd), shows the Cabinet Secretariat decided not to act on the letters. It said the commissioners had written in their individual capacity, and that in the absence of any official communication from the Commission as a whole, any action could be construed as interference in the functioning of a constitutional body.
Source: The Daily Jagran
What the commissioners alleged
According to the file notings disclosed in the RTI reply, the two commissioners alleged that Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg, after taking charge as link officer for DEC (Administration), issued an order reallocating work among equivalent and senior officers without discussing the revised allocation with the Commission or the officers concerned. They said this happened despite repeated oral and written instructions against taking such steps without the Commission's prior discussion and approval. These are the commissioners' allegations as recorded in the documents; Garg's response is not part of the disclosed papers.
How the Secretariat changed course in a day
A Cabinet Secretariat note dated August 3 first suggested seeking the Chief Election Commissioner's opinion on the issue. A note the next day took the opposite course, recording that the Commission is a constitutional body insulated from executive interference by design, and that while the letters must be taken with due seriousness, they could not be seen as a formal communication from the Commission as a whole.
The Secretariat acknowledged both letters on August 5 and sent copies to the office of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the Department of Personnel and Training and the Establishment Officer. The documents note the material would be kept on record for future decision-making regarding the officer. No disciplinary action followed.
Letters: July 29, 2026, from ECs Sandhu and Joshi to Cabinet Secretary T. V. Somanathan. Subject: Senior Deputy EC Maneesh Garg's work-allocation order. Secretariat's position: individual-capacity letters, action could mean interference in a constitutional body. Outcome: acknowledgement on August 5, copies to the CEC's office; no action taken.
The wider row
The disclosure follows an Indian Express report that Sandhu and Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders allegedly issued without their knowledge. On September 26, the Commission issued a clarification saying the work-redistribution orders were never implemented following the two commissioners' directions, and that the letters concerned an officer on deputation and did not relate to policy or IT division matters. The RTI documents themselves do not mention the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
What is solid
- Sandhu and Joshi wrote separately to the Cabinet Secretary on July 29, 2026, per RTI-disclosed records
- The Cabinet Secretariat acknowledged the letters on August 5 and took no action, citing the Commission's constitutional independence
- Maneesh Garg is a Senior Deputy Election Commissioner appointed by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on September 2, 2024
What is only claimed
- The commissioners' allegation that Garg reallocated work without the Commission's approval, in violation of rules and the 2023 Act
- The reported claim that the allocation order threatened to concentrate powers over electoral-roll work inside the Commission
Sources: The Hindu and The Daily Jagran, reporting the RTI reply to Commodore Lokesh K. Batra (retd); Punjab Chronicle's report of the same disclosure.