New Delhi/Alive News: The Supreme Court has deferred the hearing on petitions challenging the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI), including allegations that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar took unilateral decisions on matters requiring unanimous approval, particularly the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The court granted petitioner Rakesh Singh 10 days to file a rejoinder to the Election Commission’s affidavit defending the SIR exercise. The matter is likely to be listed on November 17 or after the expiry of the 10-day period following the Diwali vacation.
In its affidavit, the ECI maintained that all decisions concerning SIR were taken unanimously by Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. The response, signed by all three commissioners, stated that objections or suggestions recorded on official files do not necessarily indicate disagreement with a final decision.
The Commission also clarified that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) would visit voters whose names could not be matched with previous electoral rolls to collect documents. Voters would not ordinarily be required to appear for hearings unless necessary, while additions or deletions from electoral rolls would require an order from the competent Electoral Registration Officer.
The ECI further said Form 6 had not been changed and announced an expert committee from IIT Madras and IISc Bengaluru to examine the functioning of its ECINet platform.
Meanwhile, opposition MPs have demanded a stay on the SIR process, an investigation into the Commission’s decisions and the public disclosure of relevant records. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also shared an image of Lord Shiva accompanied by the phrase “Satyam Shivam Sundaram” ahead of the hearing.
