The Supreme Court has refused an interim order seeking the suspension of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar due to allegations of unilateral decisions regarding the special intensive revision of electoral rolls. The court will seek responses from the Election Commission and other respondents, as reported by Live Law.
The Supreme Court, on Monday, declined to pass an interim order on petitions seeking the suspension of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The refusal stems from the need for responses from the Election Commission and other respondents, as reported by Live Law. A bench consisting of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi, and V Mohana issued notices to various parties involved, including Kumar, the Election Commission, the Union government, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, and Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg.
The court's decision follows reports that Sandhu and Joshi had objected 14 times in ten months to decisions by the poll panel related to the special intensive revision (SIR), expressing concerns about changes to Form 6, appeals against the inclusion of voters in West Bengal, and handling of voter data in Goa, among other matters. In one written objection, Sandhu was quoted as stating that the poll body had acted against the advice of both commissioners and described the action as ‘unauthorised and illegal’.
The Election Commission had claimed in a statement on September 26 that a declaration attached to Form 6 for the voter roll revision had been upheld by the Supreme Court. It had also announced that the old version of Form 6 would be used in periods when SIR is not underway. The controversy over Form 6 arises from concerns about potential impact on voters' rights, as reported by Scroll.
One petition before the court seeks that all decisions taken by the poll panel not in concurrence with the election commissioners should be declared illegal, and an investigation into the deletion of 13.8 crore voters from the electoral rolls of 31 states and Union Territories during the special intensive revision is also demanded. The petitioner argues that this situation could undermine the very basis of our democracy.
Protests are being held in several parts of the country calling for Kumar to resign over concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the special intensive revision.
Source:
Scroll.in
