Appointments in Election Commission of India | Explained

The Story so far:Prakash Rajpurohit, an IAS officer of the 2010 batch, has been appointed as a Deputy Election Commissioner in the Election Commission of India (ECI) filling the vacancy caused by the premature repatriation of Sanjay Kumar, who was in-charge of the Electoral Rolls and IT division. Sanjay Kumar, who had been DEC from August 2024 till August this year had signed the ECI’s June 24, 2025, order initiating the SIR in the country. The appointment is important as the two Election Commissioners S.S. Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had written to Cabinet Secretary on how files of the ECI IT department head Dr Seema Khanna not being routed through Mr. Kumar, who was a seasoned officer, was a violation.

How are officers appointed

The appointment of all All India Services (AIS) and Group A Service officers, below the rank of Secretary, to various Union Ministries, departments and constitutional bodies is done by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) under the Central Staffing Scheme (CSS). The AIS officers such as the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Forest Service (IFoS) are recruited by the Union Government and their services are placed under various State Cadres. As per norms, it is incumbent upon the members of service to serve both under the State and the Central governments.

How does DoPT select officers for different departments

Each year the Establishment Officer, DoPT issues a circular to all the Chief Secretaries of the State Governments and the Secretaries of Ministries which are cadre controlling authorities of the participating Group-A services, requesting them to send names of suitable and willing officers under the CSS. Among the names so sponsored, an ‘offer list’ of names of officers is prepared each year. Appointments to vacancies filled under the Central Staffing Scheme are made from this ‘offer list’.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet led by the Prime Minister approves appointments under CSS. However, the ACC has delegated the powers for issuing appointment orders in respect of Deputy Secretary/Director rank officers to the Establishment Officer after obtaining recommendations of the Civil Services Board and approval of the Minister in-Charge of the concerned Ministry.

The CSB comprises the Cabinet Secretary, Secretary (Personnel) and the Establishment Officer among others. It meets at regular intervals to discuss the names of officers in the panels provided by the Establishment Officer for being considered for posting to various Departments/Ministries. The Secretary of the concerned Ministry/Department where the vacancy is to be filled up is also invited.

The central deputation reserve (CDR) from State cadres is around 40% of the sanctioned posts. Under the CSS, 40% posts are meant for joint secretary level officials (more than 19 years experience) and 60% posts are at the rank of deputy secretary (nine years) or director rank (14 years of service).

What was the ECI work allocation controversy about

Two Election Commissioners S.S. Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had written to Cabinet Secretary on how files of the ECI IT department head Dr Seema Khanna not being routed through Sanjay Kumar, who was a seasoned officer and in-charge of voter rolls and IT, was a violation.

Dr. Khanna joined the ECI in 2025 on deputation from the National Informatics Centre (NIC). She heads the commission’s IT department, and oversees its digital infrastructure, including systems for electoral-roll management.

According to Election Commission of India (ECI) sources, before the repatriation of Sanjay Kumar to his parent cadre, Dr Khanna’s files had been routed through him till she was given a promotion to Level 15 which is equivalent to the rank of an Additional Secretary.

Since Mr Kumar was of the rank of a Joint Secretary (which is level 14), Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Manish Garg issued an internal order that Dr. Khanna’s files should go straight to the Election Commissioners from then.

This order was, however, never implemented. Dr. Khanna’s files started being routed through to Maneesh Garg himself following the repatriation of Sanjay Kumar as he was his link officer which made him responsible for his departments in his absence.

How is work allocation done in ECI and what is likely to happen now

The work allocation within the bureaucrats is done by a designated officer who is the Deputy Election Commissioner (Administration).

With the new addition to the ECI, it remains to be seen what kind of work rejig is affected and whether it addresses the concerns of the two ECs, specially ahead of the crucial Assembly polls scheduled early next year.