Madras High Court retired judge V. Kanagaraj has been appointed as the State Election Commissioner (SEC) of Andhra Pradesh following the overnight expulsion of N. Ramesh Kumar through the ordinance route.
Justice Kanagaraj served as Madras HC judge for nine years and had several landmark judgments to his credit particularly in cases related to the education sector and women and children safety.
The government issued ordinance No.5 of 2020 on Friday night facilitating the appointment of a retired judge of High Court as SEC for three years and immediate removal of the incumbent Mr. Ramesh Kumar.
Published in the 'A.P. Gazette Extraordinary', the ordinance (No. 5 of 2020) limited the tenure of SEC to three years by making an amendment to Panchayat Raj (PR) Act, 1994 for conducting elections to PR institutions.
It was stated that an SEC will be entitled to re-appointment for another three years subject to a maximum aggregate period of six years.
The ordinance mentioned that the SEC cannot be removed except in the manner and on the grounds as a judge of the HC and the conditions of service will not be varied to his or her disadvantage.
