Appointments in Election Commission of India | Explained

A view outside the Election Commission of India building in New Delhi. File | Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma

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