Gyanesh Kumar faces prosecution plea in SC, Congress demands his removal over SIR
A plea in the Supreme Court seeks prosecution of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over alleged SIR violations and an independent inquiry into electoral-roll systems
A petition has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking prosecution of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, while political opposition to him has intensified over allegations linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The petition, filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi under Article 32, seeks criminal prosecution of Kumar for alleged breaches of statutory duties, reported Live Law.
The plea also challenges decisions, directives and software changes allegedly made without the concurrence of the other two Election Commissioners.
Objections raised over SIR decisions
The development comes days after a report by The Indian Express stated that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over SIR-related decisions, including changes to Form 6 and electoral-roll data management.
The objections reportedly concerned decisions taken without their knowledge or contrary to their recommendations.
Also Read: Petition seeks contempt action against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, alleges violation of SC orders
The petition seeks prosecution under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, naming Kumar, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg, Director General (IT) Seema Khanna and other officials allegedly responsible.
The allegations include unauthorised changes to Form 6, centralisation of electoral databases, failure to restore eligible voters through ECINet and 16.10 lakh appeals in West Bengal against voter inclusion.
Plea seeks judicial inquiry into EC systems
The plea cites Section 18 of the 2023 law governing the CEC and Election Commissioners, which provides that differences within the Commission are decided by majority opinion.
Also Read: EC dissent row: How Bengal’s SIR concerns went unheeded
It also seeks an independent Judicial Inquiry Commission or SIT headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, with cybersecurity and IT experts, to conduct forensic audits of ECINet and ERONet and examine the alleged deletion of 13 crore names across 30 States and Union Territories.
Congress intensifies campaign against Kumar
Meanwhile, the Delhi Congress OBC wing has put up posters at ITO saying, "Gyanesh Hatao, Chunav Aayog Bachao" after Rahul Gandhi demanded Kumar's resignation. Rahul called Kumar a "traitor" and said Congress would not watch democracy "being destroyed".
Also Read: EC denies SIR dissent report; Oppn calls for CEC’s removal, arrest, fresh polls
The Election Commission said its decisions during the previous year were unanimous and that "differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberation in any institution."
The Indian Youth Congress has also launched an online campaign titled "Gyanesh, It's Done Bro", seeking Kumar's removal, arrest and prosecution.