The Supreme Court on Monday refused to pass an interim order suspending Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, even as it issued notice to the Election Commission of India and the Union government on petitions seeking such relief.
The petitions were filed by Rakesh Kumar Singh of Patna and advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi, amid controversy over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across the country. While the Election Commission has said the exercise is aimed at removing fake voters, the Congress and other opposition parties have alleged it could curtail voters’ rights.
The plea also cited allegations that the CEC took decisions related to the SIR without obtaining the consent of the other two Election Commissioners. A newspaper report claiming that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi raised objections 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions and directions linked to the SIR added to the political row.
During the hearing before a bench led by Chief Justice Suryakant, with Justices Jaymallya Bagchi and V. Mohana, senior advocate Vikas Singh argued that the law requires decisions of the Commission to be taken unanimously or by majority. He urged the court to issue interim directions, citing concerns among citizens about safeguards around voting rights.
The bench said it would first examine whether there were violations of law in the Commission’s functioning, and noted that if irregularities are found, decisions can be set aside. It also indicated that the question of who holds decision-making authority would be examined, while seeking responses from the Election Commission and the Centre.
