PIL filed before Supreme Court seeking action against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, SIT probe into deletion of voters during SIR

A public interest litigation petition has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking action against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar in light of Indian Express report that the Election Commission of India (ECI) had taken many decisions on special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls despite two of the three Election Commissioners objecting to such decisions.

The plea filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi has sought a direction to declare all decisions taken by the ECI without the concurrence of majority of Election Commissioners as illegal and void.

"Declare all decisions, guidelines, directives, and software modifications initiated, approved, or implemented under Respondent No. 3 (CEC Gyanesh Kumar) without full Commission concurrence or contrary to the majority opinion of the Election Commissioners (under Section 18 of the CEC and Other ECs Act, 2023) as unconstitutional, ultra vires, and void ab initio," the plea has prayed.

The petitioner has also sought action against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Manish Garg and Director General (Information Technology) of ECI Seema Khanna.

"Issue appropriate directions to the competent statutory authority to register complaints and initiate prosecution under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 against Respondents No. 3, 5, 6 and all other officers found guilty of deliberate breach of official duty," the plea has requested.

As per the petition, official files revealed that over a 10-month period (November 2025 – August 2026), two Election Commissioners—Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi—formally recorded written dissents and objections on at least 14 separate occasions (including four times on a single day) against unilateral, unauthorized, and illegal decisions taken and executed in the name of the Commission.

The petitioner has also sought a probe by a judicial inquiry commission or a special investigation team (SIT) into the deletion of 13 crore voters from electoral rolls during the SIR.

Pertinently, the plea has also sought restoration of statutory Form 6 as prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 and permit all eligible adults to register as voters on the basis of original statutory requirements.

The petition was filed through advocate Chand Qureshi.

This is a developing story.