Cases Are Piling Up! Now A Supreme Court Petition Challenges Top Election Officers Over Selection Rules and Single-Handed Decisions

A new petition filed in the Supreme Court of India has challenged the selection of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, asking the court to examine whether government panels followed proper legal steps when appointing them.

The court petition, filed by activist Suri Payala, demands that the central government hand over all original meeting records from the search and selection committees. The filing contends that the government rushed through the shortlisting process, failing to provide the required ten candidate names for two vacant posts and keeping selection criteria hidden from the public and opposition members.

Following The Indian Express expose on September 23, 2026—which revealed internal dissent notes recorded by Election Commissioners Sandhu and Joshi—a batch of at least 3 major petitions (alongside supporting PILs) has been filed directly in the Supreme Court targeting Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and the Commission's leadership:

Secret Meetings and Rushed Selections

The petition highlights how the government chose Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Commissioner Sukhbir Singh Sandhu in March 2024, followed by Vivek Joshi in February 2025. According to the court documents, a search panel forwarded a bloated list of over 200 names to the Leader of the Opposition just hours before shortlisting only six candidates, rather than the mandatory panel of ten.

The legal challenge argues that the selection panel picked the top officers on the exact same day the shortlist arrived, leaving no time for background checks or proper evaluation. The petitioner noted that Right to Information (RTI) applications filed on 27 September and 2 October seeking those secret selection files remain unanswered by government departments.

Internal Objections Over Single-Handed Decisions

Beyond the hiring process, the petition brings internal turmoil inside Nirvachan Sadan to the highest court. Between October 2025 and August 2026, Election Commissioners Sandhu and Joshi wrote at least 14 formal objection notes to government authorities, complaining that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was taking major operational decisions without consulting them.

The internal notes revealed that the Chief Election Commissioner altered voter registration rules (Form 6), centralised control of the ECINET electoral roll software, and filed court appeals without holding formal meetings or circulating agendas. The petition argues that Indian law sets up the Election Commission as a multi-member team where decisions require majority approval, rather than single-handed control by one individual.

Call for Transparent Future Rules

The Supreme Court, which issued formal notices to the Centre and the poll panel earlier this week, is currently deciding whether to order an independent review of internal Commission records.

The petition asks the top court to enforce strict guidelines for all future appointments to the election body. These include publishing shortlisted candidate profiles in advance, giving selection committees clear evaluation criteria, and ensuring that no single officer can bypass fellow commissioners when running national election machinery.