What will Gyanesh Kumar do now? SC to hear petition against CEC, SIR

Supreme Court to hear plea challenging CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s exercise of Election Commission powers amid objections over SIR electoral roll decisions.

Updated : Sep 29, 2026, 01:47 PM IST

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear the petition questioning whether the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, could exercise powers vested in the Election Commission collectively. The plea comes amid allegations that other Election Commissioners objected to decisions linked to Special Intensive Revision(SIR).

The plea was mentioned before Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant by Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for petitioner Rakesh Kumar Singh, who requested a three-judge bench presided over by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant to hear the matter early. The court has agreed to hear the matter and listed it for next week.

The petitioner submitted that the purpose of having a multi-member Commission was to take a decision unanimously or by majority. It argued that the way the Election Commission has allegedly functioned, over the entire exercise of special intensive revision, makes it a serious issue.

The controversy over Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls comes after the Indian Express reported that Election Commissioner Sukhbir Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections at least 14 times over 10 months concerning decisions. The report said they objected that certain decisions were taken without their knowledge or recommendation. However, the ECI clarified that the letters referred to an officer on deputation and were not about policy or IT matters. The Commission has also maintained that SIR-related decisions were unanimously approved.