The Supreme Court will hear two petitions filed against CEC Gyanesh Kumar on October 5. These petitions have been filed regarding decisions related to Special Intensive Revision (SIR). It is alleged that about 14 decisions related to SIR were taken without the consent of two other election commissioners. The petitioners have demanded a SIT inquiry to reverse these decisions, prosecute Gyanesh Kumar and remove the names of voters in the SIR. Besides, a demand has also been made to keep CEC away from the functioning of the post till the final decision is taken. A bench of CJI Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana will hear the case. The petitions state that 13 crore names across 30 states and union territories were removed during the SIR. Demands of the first petition Demands of the second petition Demand for action against other officers apart from Gyanesh Kumar In the petition, a demand has been made to direct the competent authority to register a complaint under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act 1950 and initiate a case. This action has been sought against Gyanesh Kumar, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Manish Garg, Director General (IT) Seema Khanna and other officials found responsible. Section 32 has been cited in the petition. This provision provides for punishment for violation of government duty related to preparation, amendment or correction of the voter list. Allegations regarding Form 6 and voter data: The petitioner has also alleged that changes were made in Form 6 without permission. Apart from this, there has also been an allegation of centralizing the database of voter list. The petition states that the names of eligible voters were not restored through the ECINet system. It also mentions 16.10 lakh appeals filed in West Bengal challenging the inclusion of voters mentioned in the name of ECI. Controversy over Gyanesh Kumar started after a media report. This entire matter started with a report by Indian Express, in which there was mention of differences between Election Commission officials regarding SIR. According to the report, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had repeatedly raised concerns about the SIR process within the election panel. According to the report, the SIR process is overseen by all three officers, but Sandhu and Joshi lodged formal objections at least 14 times in the last 10 months. Of these, 4 objections were filed in a single day. The report also states that these objections were regarding decisions and orders that were issued without the knowledge of Sandhu and Joshi. In preparation for bringing impeachment in the next session, the opposition is once again planning to bring an impeachment motion against Gyanesh Kumar. Even in April 2026, the opposition had given impeachment notice against Gyanesh Kumar but that motion was rejected in the Lok Sabha, while it is still pending in the Rajya Sabha. According to sources, this time too Congress is leading the impeachment motion. Congress has talked to opposition parties on this issue. It is likely that it will be introduced within the next 2 weeks. Another case has also reached the Supreme Court, where a lawyer has written a letter to the Attorney General of India demanding contempt action against Gyanesh Kumar. Whether action will be taken against Gyanesh Kumar or not, 3 possibilities 1. Police action cannot be taken on tenure decisions: Gyanesh Kumar has got protection under Section 16 of the ‘Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Service Conditions and Tenure) Act, 2023’. That is, Section 16 gives them the protection that no civil or criminal prosecution can be instituted against them for “any act or decision taken in the discharge of their official duties”. According to legal experts, as long as this provision exists, it is legally very challenging to remove them and prosecute them merely through police action or arrest. 2. BJP rejected all the allegations outright: Gyanesh Kumar’s tenure is till January 2029, that is, Gyanesh will remain in his post for at least 2 years. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has vehemently rejected all the allegations. The party believes that these allegations are baseless. Sandhu and Joshi’s objections are not evidence of any wrongdoing, but a sign of a functioning democracy. That means he is in no mood to take any action against them. 3. The last option is impeachment, but the opposition does not have majority: According to Article 324 (5), the Chief Election Commissioner can be removed only under impeachment. To present an impeachment motion, the support of 100 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 50 in the Rajya Sabha is required. The Speaker in the Lok Sabha and the Chairman in the Rajya Sabha have to decide whether it is accepted or not. In the current situation, the opposition will need 2/3 in both the houses of the Parliament to pass the impeachment motion. That means there should be support of 362 MPs in Lok Sabha and 164 MPs in Rajya Sabha. The opposition does not have that much support in Parliament at present. ———————- Also read these news related to Chief Election Commissioner controversy…
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सुप्रीम कोर्ट में CEC ज्ञानेश कुमार के खिलाफ सुनवाई आज: एकतरफा फैसले लेने का आरोप; मांग- फैसला आने तक कामकाज से अलग रखा जाए
