Petition filed in Supreme Court seeking prosecution of CEC Gyanesh Kumar amid SIR row

A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking criminal prosecution of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged violations of statutory duties during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The plea also seeks an independent investigation into alleged deletion of voter names and changes made to electoral-roll systems.

Advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi filed the petition under Article 32 of the Constitution, LiveLaw reported on Friday. The plea seeks directions to initiate prosecution under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, against Gyanesh Kumar, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg, Director General (IT) Seema Khanna and other officials allegedly responsible for breaches of official duty.

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The petition refers to objections reportedly recorded by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi on several occasions concerning decisions linked to the SIR exercise. Among the issues cited is a modification to Form 6, the statutory application used for voter registration.

According to the petition, Joshi had objected in May 2026 to changes in Form 6, stating that the statutory form could not be altered without a corresponding amendment to the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. Sandhu subsequently concurred with the objection. The plea alleges that the form was nevertheless modified on the ECINet portal to seek information about whether an applicant or their relatives appeared in an electoral roll from the previous SIR exercise.

The petitioner has also relied on Section 18 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, which provides that where the Election Commissioners differ, the matter is to be decided according to the majority view.

A key relief sought is the constitution of an independent Judicial Inquiry Commission or Special Investigation Team headed by a retired Supreme Court judge and assisted by cybersecurity and information-technology experts. The proposed probe would conduct a forensic audit of the ECINet and ERONet databases.

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The petition alleges that around 13 crore names were deleted across 30 states and Union territories during the SIR exercise. It also seeks an investigation into the alleged filing of 16.10 lakh appeals in West Bengal challenging the inclusion of voters.

The plea further seeks restoration of the original Form 6 and preservation of server logs, databases, communications and metadata related to ECINet and ERONet from October 1, 2025.