ECI points contemporary work allocation order; brings again oversight on IT head

Greater than three months after the row over motion of Data Know-how head Seema Khanna’s information, the Election Fee of India has issued a contemporary order bringing again oversight over her division by a Deputy Election Commissioner (DEC).

An inside order issued on July 28 by Senior DEC Maneesh Garg had eliminated DEC Sanjay Kumar from the cost of IT and Data and Communication Know-how (ICT) divisions, and given Dr. Khanna a free hand, enabling her to immediately report back to the Fee. Following this, two Election Commissioners, S.S. Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, had written to Cupboard Secretary T.V. Somanathan on July 29 concerning the work allocation order of Dr. Garg, who had held interim cost of the Administration Division.

As per the present order, dated October 4, Dr. Khanna is required to route the information associated to IT/ICT and Grievances/Public Grievance Redressal System (PGRS) by Senior DEC Pawan Kumar Sharma. Dr. Khanna joined the ECI in 2025 on deputation from the Nationwide Informatics Centre (NIC). She heads the fee’s IT division and oversees its digital infrastructure, together with methods for electoral roll administration.

‘No change’

ECI sources although insisted that there is no such thing as a change within the reporting construction of Director-Common of IT as she has at all times been reporting to a DEC stage officer. In an affidavit filed within the Supreme Court docket, the ECI had maintained that the July 28 order had by no means been applied. The sources additionally mentioned that the work allocation orders had been issued as per unanimous choices of the Fee.

The letters to the Cupboard Secretary by Dr. Sandhu and Dr. Joshi, obtained beneath the Proper to Data (RTI) Act by transparency activist Commodore Lokesh Batra (retired), defined their objections concerning Dr. Garg altering the work allocation of officers “inside hours of” getting cost of the administration wing “with out discussing or informing” them regardless of “repeated and specific oral and written” directions to all officers. Each ECs had additionally mentioned that Dr. Garg had “issued related orders on one earlier event” whereas he was working as DEC (Administration).

Delimitation in-charge

Prakash Rajpurohit, an IAS officer of the 2010 batch, who was appointed as DEC within the ECI, filling the emptiness brought on by the untimely repatriation of Sanjay Kumar (earlier in-charge of the electoral rolls and IT divisions), would now be aiding Dr. Garg in election planning. He would even be in-charge of delimitation.

Mr. Kumar, who had been DEC from August 2024 until August this yr, had signed the ECI’s June 24, 2025, order initiating the SIR within the nation.