Supreme Court Refuses Interim Order To Suspend CEC Gyanesh Kumar; Issues Notice To ECI, ECs
· Free Press Journal
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to pass an interim order seeking the suspension of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, while issuing notices to the Election Commission of India (ECI), Kumar and the other two Election Commissioners on petitions challenging alleged unilateral decision-making within the poll panel, Live Law reported.
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A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant is hearing the pleas, which raise questions over the functioning of the multi-member Election Commission and seek enforcement of collective decision-making under Article 324 of the Constitution.
Pleas Allege Unilateral Decisions On Electoral Roll Revision
The petitions were filed days after a report by The Indian Express claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions and orders concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
According to the report, the objections were raised between October 2025 and August 2026. The two Election Commissioners allegedly maintained that certain decisions were issued without their knowledge, concurrence or recommendation.
The pleas before the Supreme Court have challenged the alleged unilateral decisions and raised concerns over whether the Election Commission, as a multi-member constitutional body, is required to function through collective decision-making.
EC Commissioners Had Also Raised Software Concerns
Sandhu and Joshi had also separately written to Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan, raising concerns regarding the integrity of voter-related software.
The Election Commission, however, said the letters sent by the two Election Commissioners to the Cabinet Secretary related to an officer on deputation and were not connected to policy matters or the functioning of its IT division.
CEC Gyanesh Kumar Faces Fresh Kerala Vigilance Probe Over 2006 PWD Corruption Allegations Linked To State Transport ProjectThe latest proceedings before the Supreme Court come amid the ongoing debate over the decision-making process within the poll panel, particularly in matters concerning the revision of electoral rolls.
The court has now sought responses from the ECI, CEC Gyanesh Kumar and the other two Election Commissioners on the pleas. The Supreme Court's refusal to grant interim relief means that no order suspending Kumar was passed at this stage.