The Election Commission of India (ECI) has clarified that there has been no change in the supervisory arrangement for its Director General of Information Technology, Seema Khanna, following a revision of work allocation orders.
According to a senior Commission official, Khanna continued to work under Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Manish Garg’s supervision even after a July 28 order directed her to report directly to the Commission.
Under a revised order issued on Wednesday, Khanna will now report to newly appointed Deputy Election Commissioner Prakash Raj Purohit instead of Garg.
The issue emerged after Garg issued the July 28 order following the transfer of Deputy Election Commissioner Sanjay Kumar to the Delhi government. Election Commissioners SS Sandhu and Vivek Joshi reportedly objected to the arrangement, after which the order was kept in abeyance.
In a clarification, the ECI stated that the revised work distribution was never implemented and oversight of its IT division by a Deputy Election Commissioner was not withdrawn.
Khanna, an officer of the National Informatics Centre (NIC), has also been at the centre of concerns over the management of digital electoral roll infrastructure and election software systems.
The latest revision formally places her under Purohit’s supervision as part of the Commission’s updated allocation of responsibilities.