Supreme Court Agrees to Early Hearing of Plea Challenging Election Commission’s Functioning

SC to Hear Plea Questioning ECI Decision-Making Amid SIR Row

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear next week a petition questioning the manner in which the Election Commission of India (ECI) has been taking decisions under Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The plea was mentioned before a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana.

Senior advocate Vikas Singh, who mentioned the matter, told the court that the statutory framework governing the three-member Election Commission requires decisions to be taken either unanimously or by majority.

Singh questioned whether decisions taken by the poll panel in recent months had the concurrence of all three Election Commissioners.

The petition comes amid a reported dispute over decisions related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The Indian Express has reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over a 10-month period concerning certain SIR-related decisions and orders.

According to the report, the two commissioners alleged that some decisions had been issued without their knowledge or recommendation.

The Election Commission has rejected that interpretation, saying the letters written by Sandhu and Joshi to the Cabinet Secretary concerned an officer on deputation and were unrelated to policy decisions or matters handled by the IT division.

The Supreme Court’s decision to list the petition next week will bring the ECI’s internal decision-making process under judicial consideration.