Cases Pile Up Against Election Commission: Supreme Court and High Courts Swamped with Pleas Over SIR Voter Deletions

A mounting wave of petitions before the Supreme Court and the Bombay High Court has plunged the Election Commission of India into an unprecedented legal and institutional crisis over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

The latest action before the top court seeks criminal prosecution of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alongside demands for an independent Special Investigation Team probe into the alleged deletion of nearly 13 crore voter names nationwide.

The legal surge follows investigative reports revealing that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi formally recorded written dissents on at least 14 occasions over a 10-month period against administrative and software directives executed by the CEC.

Supreme Court Petition Challenges CEC Authority and Seeks SIT Probe

The public interest litigation in the Supreme Court, filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi through advocate Chand Qureshi under Article 32, urges the court to invoke Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. It calls for criminal prosecution against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg, and IT Division Head Seema Khanna for deliberate breach of official duties.

The petitioner requests an SIT headed by a retired judge to conduct a forensic audit of the ECINet and ERONet databases. The plea alleges that software-driven processes led to the arbitrary removal of 13 crore electors across 30 States and Union Territories without statutory hearings.

"All decisions, directives, and software modifications initiated or implemented without the written concurrence of the full multi-member Commission violate constitutional principles and must be declared null and void," the petition submitted.

Multiple High Court Petitions Seek Stay on Maharashtra SIR Exercise

Simultaneously, two separate writ petitions were moved before the Bombay High Court's Kolhapur and Principal Benches challenging the constitutionality of the SIR exercise in Maharashtra.

Filed through advocate Asim Sarode and advocate Hitendra Gandhi, the petitions ask the court to quash 14 administrative orders passed by the CEC. The petitioners seek an immediate halt to the revision in Maharashtra, the mandatory restoration of deleted electors, and a hold on upcoming Assembly elections until legally compliant rolls are published.

The High Court pleas highlight unauthorized alterations to voter registration Form 6, software blockages preventing Electoral Registration Officers from overriding deletions, and the improper tagging of voters as Absent, Shifted, Dead, or Duplicate during door-to-door visits.

Contempt Sanction Sought alongside Internal Panel Disagreements

Adding to the growing stack of legal challenges, Supreme Court advocate Brajesh Singh submitted a formal application to the Law Officer seeking statutory consent under Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. The application seeks to initiate criminal contempt proceedings directly against CEC Gyanesh Kumar for converting a multi-member constitutional body into a single-handed administration, citing binding precedents from T.N. Seshan v. Union of India.

In response to the mounting legal pressure, the Election Commission released a statement asserting that internal discussions represent routine deliberative procedures. The poll panel clarified that all final decisions regarding the Special Intensive Revision were taken unanimously by the full Commission.