Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Sunday accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of taking “unilateral decisions” related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and demanded his removal from office, while urging the Supreme Court to consider nullifying elections conducted recently, reported PTI.
According to the report, the former Union minister said Kumar had been given immunity from criminal prosecution under a new law brought by the Modi government, while Seema Khanna, who managed ECI NET operations and does not have statutory immunity, should be arrested and an FIR registered against her.
Khanna's role has come under scrutiny amid a row over a report by The Indian Express, which said questions had repeatedly been raised within the three-member Election Commission over issues related to the SIR of electoral rolls by two of the three commissioners — Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
The nationwide rollout of the SIR has been under the supervision of all three commissioners.
However, according to the report, Sandhu and Joshi formally objected on record at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions taken and orders issued without their knowledge, they said.
Referring to the Election Commission's statement on Saturday, Sibal claimed that the CEC had acknowledged that decisions had not been taken unanimously over the past several months.
He alleged that decisions were taken “unilaterally” by Kumar instead of by the full Commission.
Speaking at a press conference here, Sibal claimed that Commission meetings were conducted without agendas being circulated or minutes being recorded, preventing the other commissioners from reviewing or commenting on decisions.
He said these practices continued for 10 months and covered state elections from Bihar in June 2025 to West Bengal in April 2026.
Sibal alleged that decisions concerning the addition and deletion of voters were centralised in Delhi through ECI NET under Khanna, bypassing statutory Electoral Registration Officers (EROs).
Pointing out that Khanna managed ECI NET operations and did not have statutory immunity, Sibal demanded that an FIR be registered against her and that she be arrested immediately.
Sibal also alleged that modifications to Form 6, which required applicants to provide details of a parent or grandparent, were implemented without the required notification from the central government.
Claiming that election processes from Bihar to West Bengal had violated statutory rules, Sibal said all elections held during the 10-month period were “illegal”.
He urged the Supreme Court to examine Election Commission records, dissent notes and unilateral orders, and said the court should take suo motu cognisance of the issues and consider annulling the recent elections.
Amid the continuing row over the SIR, the Opposition has demanded Kumar's immediate arrest and removal from office, as well as an independent review of decisions and electoral roll changes made under his tenure.
(With inputs from PTI)
