TN Seshan, Ashok Lavasa, and recent disagreements: A history of dissent within the Election Commission

From TN Seshan and Ashok Lavasa to recent controversies, explore the history of internal disagreements, dissenting votes, and sharp conflicts within the Election Commission of India.

The Election Commission of India is expected to speak with one voice, but history shows that its three-member constitutional bench has frequently faced sharp internal disagreements. The recent publication of official complaints of Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi against SIR procedures brought the institutional conflict back to the center stage. Nevertheless, internal disputes in EC are nothing new.

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TN Seshan Versus MS Gill and GVG Krishnamurthy (1990s)

When the government designated MS Gill and GVG Krishnamurthy as election commissioners in October 1993, the shift from a single-member to a multi-member body started a fierce turf war.

The issue: Chief Election Commissioner TN Seshan challenged the multi-member model in the courts, claiming that it prevents him from exercising his executive powers independently.

Supreme Court ruling: The Supreme Court ruled in its July 1995 decision that CEC is part of a collective body in which the majority rule prevails and he cannot act independently.

The consequence: Gill and Krishnamurthy accused Seshan of blocking them from attending meetings, refusing to give them documents, and ignoring their presence in numerous letters and public statements.

N Gopalswamy versus Navin Chawla (2009)

Institutional tension reached unimagined levels in January 2009 when the incumbent Chief Election Commissioner, N. Gopalswamy, took an extremely unusual step of requesting the removal of one of his colleagues, the Election Commissioner Navin Chawla.

The accusation: Gopalswamy approached President Pratibha Patil requesting the removal of his colleague based on the allegations of political prejudice in favor of a certain political party for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The split in institutions: Qureshi, who was the third member of the Commission, stayed away from the action, as he termed it the decision of the CEC and not a resolution by the Commission.

The decision: Ultimately, the President rejected the proposal and Navin Chawla became the next CEC in April 2009.

Ashok Lavasa and the model code controversies of 2019

In the 2019 general elections, there were notable dissenting views expressed by the Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa concerning the clean chits issued to political bigwigs about their breaches of the Model Code of Conduct.

The boycott: Lavasa withdrew himself from the meetings relating to violation of codes, as his request to have the minority opinion reflected in public orders was not accepted.

The ruling: A full commission meeting on May 21, 2019, decided that dissenting views would be recorded in internal files but kept out of public final orders, creating a lasting debate over institutional transparency and internal democracy.

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