Published Sep 25, 2026 | 2:46 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 25, 2026 | 2:46 PM
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Synopsis: A petition filed in the Supreme Court seeks the criminal prosecution of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged violations of statutory duties during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, days after an investigation by the Indian Express reported dissent within the ECI. The petition also seeks a declaration that decisions, guidelines and software modifications allegedly undertaken by Kumar without the concurrence of the other two Election Commissioners are unconstitutional and void.
A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking criminal prosecution of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar for alleged violations of statutory duties in the conduct of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, LiveLaw reported.
Filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi, the petition comes days after an investigation by the Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions on the SIR that were taken without their knowledge or against their recommendations.
The petition also seeks a declaration that decisions, guidelines and software modifications allegedly undertaken by Kumar without the concurrence of the other two Election Commissioners are unconstitutional and void.
This includes quashing of the changes made to Form 6 on the ECINet and ERONet portals and restoration of the statutory Form 6 prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
The petitioner has asked the competent authority to register complaints and initiate prosecution under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, against Kumar, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg, Director General (IT) Seema Khanna and other officials found responsible for the alleged breach of official duty.
It seeks an independent Judicial Inquiry Commission or Special Investigation Team headed by a retired Supreme Court judge and assisted by cybersecurity and IT experts.
The proposed body would conduct a forensic audit of the ECINet and ERONet databases and investigate the circumstances in which 13 crore names were deleted across 30 States and Union Territories during the SIR.
The SIR, now in its third phase, is supposed to be overseen by all three Commissioners. The CEC is first among equals and does not have the power to decide alone. Section 18 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, says the Commission’s business “shall, as far as possible, be transacted unanimously”.
If the CEC and the Election Commissioners “differ in opinion on any matter”, the matter “shall be decided according to the opinion of the majority”. Yet, time and again, the poll body made decisions without the knowledge of, or sometimes against the recommendations of, the two Commissioners.
According to the IE, Sandhu and Joshi raised objections over the registration of new voters, deletion and restoration of names, appeals against decisions in the SIR process, and the custody and security of the electoral-roll database.
The SIR was first rolled out in Bihar in June 2025 and has since expanded across most of the country in three phases. Phase I, conducted in Bihar, was completed in September 2025.
Phase II, completed in April 2026, covered nine States, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, and the Union Territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Puducherry. Phase III is now underway across 16 States and three Union Territories, including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana.
The deletion of crores of names from the electoral rolls during the exercise, apart from raising questions over its legality, has put the Commission under intense public scrutiny.
In light of the IE investigation, the Cockroach Janta Party dubbed Gyanesh Kumar the “biggest anti-national” in the country and demanded his immediate resignation.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi doubled down on his “vote chori” allegations against the ECI and the ruling BJP and vowed to hold those responsible for the ‘destruction of democracy’ to account. He also called for the resignation of the CEC and urged him to turn an approver.
AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal called for the entire SIR process to be cancelled, the voter lists from three years ago to be restored and recent elections in Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to be held again.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
