‘Supreme Court Must Take Note’: Opposition Flags Reported EC Dissent Over SIR

The Election Commission of India has come under renewed political scrutiny.

After an Indian Express investigation reported that two of the three Election Commissioners had formally raised objections to several decisions linked to the electoral roll revision process over the past 10 months.

The report said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded at least 14 objections concerning issues such as voter registration, deletion and restoration of names, appeals against decisions in the SIR process and the management of electoral-roll data.

The findings triggered sharp reactions from Opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Congress MPs Manish Tewari and Jairam Ramesh, AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut.

WHAT THE REPORT SAID ABOUT DISSENT WITHIN THE EC

According to the Indian Express investigation, Sandhu and Joshi objected to several decisions that they said were taken without their knowledge or approval. Their concerns reportedly included changes to Form 6, used for voter registration, the centralisation of electoral-roll database controls and the handling of voter appeals in West Bengal.

The report said the two Commissioners had raised concerns at least 14 times over 10 months, including four objections on a single day. In one instance, Sandhu reportedly described an EC action as “unauthorised and illegal” after alleging that it had been taken contrary to the written advice of the Commissioners.

The investigation also reported that the two Commissioners separately approached the Cabinet Secretary over changes in the allocation of responsibilities relating to the IT infrastructure used for electoral-roll management.

Under Section 18 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, the Commission’s business is to be conducted, as far as possible, unanimously. Where the Commissioners disagree, the matter is decided by majority.

SIR AND WEST BENGAL VOTER APPEALS

The dispute comes amid the nationwide Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The Indian Express reported that the exercise had resulted in more than 13 crore names being removed from draft rolls across 30 states and Union Territories.

West Bengal has emerged as one of the most closely watched cases. The Election Commission recently told the Supreme Court that 38.31 lakh appeals had been filed in the state, including 22.21 lakh seeking restoration of deleted names and 16.10 lakh seeking deletion of names that had been included.

The Indian Express report said Sandhu had questioned why the EC was appealing against voters whose names had been included by judicial officers. It also said he raised concerns that neither he, Joshi nor West Bengal’s Chief Electoral Officer had been informed about the basis or procedure for filing those appeals.

OPPOSITION REACTS

Akhilesh Yadav described the reported disagreements as a serious development and called for the Supreme Court to take note of the matter. He questioned whether an independent constitutional body could function effectively if concerns raised by its members were not adequately addressed.

Congress MP Manish Tewari said the report raised questions about the Election Commission’s credibility and decision-making process. He also called for scrutiny of whether the procedures prescribed for the Commission had been followed.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said his party would address the issue separately, with Congress MP Abhishek Singhvi expected to elaborate on what Ramesh described as significant revelations in the report.

AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj also criticised Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and called for action against him. He alleged that Opposition leaders had encountered an unresponsive approach during interactions with the poll panel.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut separately alleged that changes to electoral-roll systems and software had contributed to voters being removed from the rolls. He also questioned changes concerning Form 6 and the role of centralised technology in decisions relating to voter records.

These allegations are political claims and have not been independently established by the reports cited above.

EC SAYS DECISIONS WERE UNANIMOUS

The Election Commission has rejected the suggestion of an internal breakdown over the SIR exercise. According to the EC, all decisions taken by the Commission, including those related to SIR, had the approval of all three Election Commissioners.

The clarification came after the Indian Express report detailing the objections recorded by Sandhu and Joshi. The EC said the decisions were unanimous and had the approval of CEC Gyanesh Kumar as well as the two Election Commissioners.

The contrasting accounts have now put the Commission’s internal decision-making and the functioning of the electoral-roll system under renewed public and political scrutiny, particularly as the Supreme Court continues to hear challenges and petitions related to the SIR process.