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

Supreme Court to Hear Plea Questioning Election Commission’s Decision-Making

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

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

Senior advocate Vikas Singh, who mentioned the petition, submitted that under the statutory framework governing the multi-member poll panel, decisions are required to be taken either unanimously or by majority.

Singh raised questions over whether decisions attributed to the Election Commission in recent months were taken with the concurrence of all its members.

The petition comes amid reports of differences within the three-member Election Commission over decisions linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. A report by The Indian Express said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally recorded objections at least 14 times over a 10-month period to certain decisions and orders.

According to the report, the two commissioners had raised concerns that some decisions were issued without their knowledge or recommendation.

The Election Commission, however, has disputed the characterization of the objections. It said the letters sent by Sandhu and Joshi to the Cabinet Secretary related to an officer on deputation and did not concern policy matters or the IT division.

The Supreme Court’s decision to list the petition next week is expected to bring the issue of the poll panel’s decision-making process under judicial scrutiny.