NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a fresh plea seeking to determine whether Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar could take decisions unilaterally on behalf of the Election Commission of India (ECI) without the concurrence of the other Election Commissioners, next week.
Senior Advocate Vikas Singh mentioned the matter on Tuesday before the Bench led by CJI Surya Kant, and submitted that the statutory scheme requires decisions of the multi-member Commission to be unanimous or by majority.
"Now, the way the Election Commission has functioned..., there is serious doubt about whether there was a unanimous decision by the Election Commission over SIR. If the Commission has not taken a unanimous decision, then... What the Court has decided is based on the Commission's decision. So it is a serious issue. I am only requesting, my Lords," he submitted.
Hearing this, the CJI Kant said, "We will list it for hearing next week."
The petition was filed by Rakesh Kumar Singh under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution and sought a declaration that the powers vested in the ECI under Article 324 must be exercised by the Election Commission as a multi-member body and not by the CEC individually.
The plea is filed in the context of alleged objections by the Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi against the decisions taken in ECI's name.
It alleges that two Commissioners recorded at least 14 objections between October 2025 and August 2026 over steps they considered taken without Commission approval, indicating internal dissent over unilateral decisions allegedly taken by CEC Kumar.