Supreme Court Refuses to Suspend CEC Gyanesh Kumar over Alleged Unilateral Decisions in ECI
The court will examine whether decisions on electoral rolls were taken without majority approval and may annul any action found unlawful.
- The Supreme Court issued notices on Monday to the Election Commission of India, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and other officials regarding a plea challenging unilateral decision-making; Chief Justice of India Surya Kant refused to suspend Kumar, citing the need for responses.
- At least 14 objections recorded by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi between October 2025 and August 2026 form the petition's basis, alleging Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar bypassed collective decision-making on Form 6 alterations without majority approval.
- Senior advocate Vikas Singh cited Section 18 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, arguing decisions must be unanimous; Rahul Gandhi accused Kumar of changing Form 6 "illegally and unilaterally" to help the BJP.
- During the hearing, CJI Surya Kant observed, "Any modified Form 6 has not been approved by us," while the bench emphasized it could "annul any decision" if records showed non-unanimous actions were taken.
- Responses from the ECI and other respondents will clarify allegations regarding centralized database access and bypassed protocols before the court determines whether to order data preservation or consider suspension of the CEC.
68 Articles
68 Articles
SC’s big order on SIR: Refuses to suspend CEC Gyanesh Kumar, issues notice on plea challenging ECI decisions
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to pass any interim order restraining Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar from functioning over allegations that he took several decisions unilaterally despite objections from the other two Election Commissioners. The controversy surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has once again brought into focus a crucial distinction that critics of the Election Commis…
Established beyond doubt Gyanesh Kumar changed Form 6 illegally, unilaterally: Rahul
New Delhi, Oct 5 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said it is now established beyond doubt that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar changed Form 6 “illegally and unilaterally”, and asserted that the CEC as well as everyone else involved in this “criminal assault on democracy” will be held accountable. The Leader of Opposition […]
SC says changes to Form 6 not made by court; says post-retirement immunity to CEC not available to even judges
SC hears petitions demanding suspension of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of bias, administrative unilateralism, and procedural overreach during the SIR process
'Modified Form 6 Not Approved By Supreme Court': Chief Justice Surya Kant
The ECI has said that Form 6 itself has not been amended; it maintained that it only added an extra declaration to be used by new voters for the voter roll cleanup exercise Special Intensive Revision (SIR)
SC seeks EC response on changes during SIR: Why has Form 6 become a flashpoint
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Bagchi and Mohana sought responses from the Election Commission, the Centre, the CEC and the other two election commissioners before examining whether the poll panel's statutory procedure was followed. The bench refused to pass an immediate order seeking the suspension of CEC , while considering the controversy over Form 6, which was one of the central issues raised in the petitions.
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