New Delhi [India], October 5 (ANI): Following the Supreme Court's hearing on a petition seeking the suspension of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday stated that the apex court has a "remarkable opportunity to restore public confidence" in the poll body, while noting that the bench has sought a reply without issuing any interim directions.
In a post on social media platform X, the Congress leader stated that the petition comes amid growing questions regarding the conduct of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and recent observations made by members of the judiciary.
"The Supreme Court today heard a petition seeking, among other things, the suspension of CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Based on the recent damning revelations regarding (1) the ad-hoc, illegal and slip-shod manner in which the SIR was taking place, (2) criticism from both sitting and retired Judges of the Supreme Court, (3) the vast and indiscriminate (and many obviously incorrect) deletions without adequate due process, the Supreme Court has a remarkable opportunity to restore public confidence in an institution vital to the integrity of our republic. As of now, the Supreme Court has chosen to seek a reply. It has chosen not to pass any interim order though," Ramesh wrote.
Drawing a comparison with the historical leadership of the Election Commission, the Congress leader remarked that institutional goodwill was built over decades, beginning with India's first Chief Election Commissioner Sukumar Sen.
"The Supreme Court has, in the past, trusted the ECI and the CECs to give a fair account of their running of the body. The Supreme Court would do well to note that that trust was based on decades of propriety and competent conduct starting with the late great Sukumar Sen, the first CEC who set the bar for how elections are to be conducted. None of that goodwill can be claimed by Gyanesh Kumar," Ramesh said.
Mounting a sharp political attack, the Congress MP further alleged procedural wrongdoing in the handling of voter enrollment forms.
"This malicious Form 6 modification, which was originally implied to have the Supreme Court’s approval, is one such example of his underhanded and simply indefensible conduct. In reality, the CEC has not only lied but also violated the law and betrayed the Constitution in letter and spirit at the behest of the PM and the HM," Ramesh alleged.
Ramesh’s remarks come after the Supreme Court on Monday refused to pass an ex-parte interim order seeking suspension of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations that key decisions relating to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls were taken unilaterally, saying the Election Commission and others must first be heard.
The petition relied on at least 14 contemporaneous objections allegedly recorded by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi between October 2025 and August 2026.
The objections include allegations that communications were issued in the name of the ECI without Commission approval, agendas and minutes of meetings were not circulated for over a year, and changes were made to electoral-roll systems without the participation or approval of the two Commissioners.
A key grievance concerns the alteration of Form 6 during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
Commissioner Joshi had allegedly objected that the form could not be changed to require SIR-linked disclosures without an amendment to the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, an objection subsequently endorsed by Sandhu.
The petition also raised concerns over the alleged centralisation of the electoral-roll database and access to ERONet/ECINet by statutory field-level authorities. Joshi had proposed an independent audit of database access credentials, while Sandhu later questioned the authority of the ECI’s Director General (IT) to restrict access available to statutory electoral officers.
Another issue concerns appeals filed in the name of the ECI before West Bengal Appellate Tribunals against voters whose inclusion had been directed by judicial officers. Sandhu allegedly questioned who had authorised the filing of the appeals and under what authority.
The plea further relied on Section 18 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, which provides that the Commission’s business should, as far as possible, be transacted unanimously and, where the members differ, decided by majority.
Among the interim reliefs sought are preservation of electoral-roll data and audit trails, a direction against further substantive alteration of Form 6, and protection against irreversible changes to electoral-roll data pending adjudication. The petitioner has also sought an interim direction restraining Gyanesh Kumar from exercising the functions of CEC and requiring the Commission’s business to be transacted by the other two Commissioners. (ANI)
"SC has remarkable opportunity to restore public confidence": Jairam Ramesh on plea seeking CEC's suspension
