Election Commission Defends Chief Commissioner in Supreme Court Filings

The Election Commission of India (ECI) filed joint affidavits in the Supreme Court on October 26, 2026, defending the functioning of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The filings respond to petitions from INDIA bloc leaders and petitioner Rakesh Kumar Singh, who alleged that Kumar acted unilaterally and authoritatively.

The ECI asserted that the Chief Election Commissioner can only be removed from office using the same grounds and manner as a Supreme Court judge. The commission denied allegations of unilateral decision-making, stating that all orders regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls were unanimous. To support this, the ECI cited specific unanimous decisions from June 2025, October 2025, and May 2026, while arguing that the petitions relied on unverified newspaper reports.

Despite the public defense, the affidavits indirectly confirmed internal friction. Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had previously written to the Cabinet Secretary regarding the conduct of Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg. This followed a July 28, 2026, order on IT oversight issued without their consensus, though the ECI noted the order was never implemented. The commission also clarified that the statutory Form 6 for voter registration remained unchanged and addressed voter roll disputes in Goa and West Bengal.