No Legal Obstacle in Devendra Kalyan’s Appointment as State Election Commissioner as per Service Rules – Advocate Hemant
Homepages News Service
Chandigarh, June 27 – For the first time in Haryana’s history, a retired non-IAS officer has been appointed to the crucial post of State Election Commissioner. As per a gazette notification issued on Thursday, June 26, the Governor of Haryana appointed retired IRS (Indian Revenue Service) officer Devendra Singh Kalyan as the new State Election Commissioner of Haryana. Devendra is the brother of the current Speaker of the Haryana Legislative Assembly, Harvindra Kalyan, and he retired from the IRS only a few months ago.
Nearly four years ago, in April 2021, the then BJP government led by Manohar Lal Khattar appointed Dhanpat Singh, a retired 1985 batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, as the State Election Commissioner. His tenure concluded on April 9, 2025. Dhanpat had retired in April 2020 as Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) and Financial Commissioner (Revenue) from the Revenue, Disaster Management, and Consolidation Department of the state.
Meanwhile, Hemant Kumar, an advocate in the Punjab and Haryana High Court and an expert in constitutional matters, stated that the post of State Election Commissioner is a constitutional post under Articles 243K and 243ZA of the Indian Constitution. These provisions were introduced through the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments in 1992-93, which mandated that elections to Panchayati Raj Institutions and Municipal Bodies in states must be conducted under the superintendence, direction, and control of the State Election Commission, and not by the state government.
As per Haryana rules, only an IAS officer of Principal Secretary rank or a sitting or retired High Court Judge aged not less than 55 years can be appointed as State Election Commissioner. However, until now, all seven individuals who previously held this post in Haryana were retired IAS officers.
Hemant clarified that since Devendra Kalyan had served as Principal Secretary of the Excise and Taxation Department in Haryana for several years, there is no legal hurdle in appointing him to this post.
However, he pointed out a critical gap in the selection process: despite the post being highly significant and sensitive, there is no system in Haryana to advertise the vacancy openly or to invite applications from interested candidates. Whomever the state government—essentially the Chief Minister—intends to appoint is simply recommended to the Governor, and upon approval, a notification is issued by the Chief Secretary to finalize the appointment.
Hemant also mentioned that Haryana Assembly has never passed a dedicated Act to regulate the functioning of the State Election Commission or the State Election Commissioner, unlike neighboring Punjab, which enacted such a law in September 1994. Haryana did, however, formulate the Haryana State Election Commissioner (Service Conditions) Rules, 1994, and these have been amended multiple times by successive governments over the last 31 years.
According to these rules, the tenure of the State Election Commissioner in Haryana is five years from the date of assuming office. However, if the appointee turns 65 years old during the tenure, they must vacate the post. Since Dhanpat Singh was born on April 10, 1960, his term could not extend beyond April 9, 2025. However, the rules also permit the previous incumbent to continue for up to six more months or until a successor takes over, whichever is earlier, even after crossing the age of 65, if no new appointment is made.
Hemant also shared historical context:
Before Dhanpat Singh, retired IAS officer Dr. Dalip Singh was appointed in July 2016 and remained in office until April 2021, when he turned 65.
Prior to him, Rajeev Sharma, a retired IAS officer, was appointed at age 64 in May 2015, serving until July 2016.
Earlier, in November 2009, the Hooda government had appointed Dharamveer, a former Chief Secretary and retired IAS officer, who served until April 2015.
Before that, during the Chautala government, Chander Singh, a retired IAS officer, was appointed in September 2004 and remained until October 2009.
Interestingly, in 2004, then Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala tried to appoint a trusted non-IAS person to the post, but the then Governor did not approve. Haryana’s first two State Election Commissioners, J.K. Duggal and T.D. Jogpal, were also retired IAS officers.
