The Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to hear, next week, a public interest litigation seeking the suspension of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and challenging the manner in which the poll panel, led by him, allegedly made decisions without the approval of two Election Commissioners. The case was presented before a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana.
The core of the dispute centers on an additional declaration requirement introduced into the Form 6 process during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The Election Commission of India (ECI) maintains that Form 6 itself was never legally altered and that the new declaration is merely an administrative measure to streamline verification and prevent logical discrepancies. The ECI added an online question asking first‑time and young voters whether their parents or grandparents were registered in the previous SIR roll.
Opposition leaders allege that more than 13.3 crore voter names have been unjustly deleted through this controversial addition. Critics and former officials argue that the nationwide scope of the SIR violates Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. Senior advocate Vikas Singh told the bench that, under the statutory scheme, decisions of the multi‑member Election Commission must be unanimous or by majority, raising doubts over the unanimity of the commission’s actions.
The PIL, filed by Patna resident Rakesh Kumar Singh, requests the court to determine whether CEC Kumar has exercised powers that belong to the Election Commission as a whole and, if so, to declare those actions unauthorised. It also seeks a Quo Warranto writ questioning the CEC’s authority to act without consensus and to restrain him from functioning while the case is pending. The petition lists the Union Law Ministry, the poll panel, CEC Kumar, Commissioners Sandhu and Joshi, and senior official Maneesh Garg as parties. Former Union Home Secretary R.K. Singh has publicly accused CEC Kumar of illegal deletions during the SIR process and called for opposition unity, while the Congress Working Committee and other opposition parties demand the CEC’s removal, suspension of the SIR process, and restoration of deleted voter entries.
