A fresh petition before the Supreme Court has intensified the controversy surrounding the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, with the petitioner seeking criminal proceedings against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged violations of statutory duties.
The petition has been filed under Article 32 of the Constitution by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi. It names CEC Gyanesh Kumar, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg, Director General (IT) Seema Khanna and other officials who may be found responsible for the alleged violations.
The plea also challenges decisions, directions, guidelines and software-related changes allegedly introduced without the concurrence of the other Election Commissioners.
What has the petitioner told the Supreme Court?
The petitioner has asked the Supreme Court to direct the competent authority to register complaints and initiate proceedings under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
Section 32 deals with punishment for certain breaches of official duty connected with the preparation, revision or correction of electoral rolls.
The plea alleges irregularities involving changes to Form 6, the management of electoral-roll databases, restoration of eligible voters and the handling of appeals related to voter deletions.
The petition also seeks an independent inquiry into the functioning of the electoral databases used during the SIR exercise.
Form 6 changes become a major point of dispute
Form 6 is used by eligible citizens to apply for inclusion in the electoral roll, including new voters.
The petition refers to objections reportedly raised by Election Commissioners Vivek Joshi and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu over an additional declaration connected with SIR that was incorporated into the online voter-registration process.
According to an Indian Express investigation, Joshi had objected to the change, arguing that the statutory Form 6 could not be altered without amending the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. Sandhu later also raised objections.
The additional section asked applicants to indicate whether their own name or that of a parent or grandparent appeared in an electoral roll from an earlier SIR.
The Indian Express report said the two Election Commissioners had recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over a 10-month period concerning different decisions linked to electoral-roll management.
However, the Election Commission has rejected the suggestion that decisions were taken without the approval of the full Commission. The poll panel said the SIR exercise and other decisions had the approval of all three Election Commissioners.
The ECI has also said there was no change to the statutory Form 6 itself and that the SIR-related information was added as a separate annexure.
Plea questions decisions taken within Election Commission
The petition further challenges decisions and instructions that the petitioner alleges were initiated or implemented under Gyanesh Kumar without the required concurrence of the other members.
It invokes Section 18 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, arguing that when members of the Commission disagree, decisions should follow the majority view.
The petitioner has therefore asked the Supreme Court to declare decisions, guidelines and software changes allegedly made contrary to the Commission’s majority view as unconstitutional and legally invalid.
Petition seeks probe into voter-roll databases
The plea has also called for an independent investigation into the electoral databases used during the SIR process.
It proposes either a Judicial Inquiry Commission or a Special Investigation Team headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, with assistance from cybersecurity and information-technology experts.
The petitioner has raised questions over the handling of voter data and alleged large-scale deletions during the revision exercise.
The plea further seeks preservation of server logs, databases, communications and metadata connected with the ECINet and ERONet systems from October 1, 2025 onwards.
West Bengal appeals also mentioned
The petition refers to the large number of appeals filed in West Bengal in connection with the SIR process.
The Election Commission had earlier told the Supreme Court that 38.31 lakh appeals had been filed in West Bengal, including 22.21 lakh applications seeking inclusion and 16.10 lakh seeking further deletions.
The latest petition seeks judicial scrutiny of the systems and procedures through which such electoral-roll changes and appeals were handled.
The Supreme Court will now have to consider the reliefs sought in the petition, including the request for investigation and proceedings under the Representation of the People Act.
