Petition to Supreme Court seeks criminal charges against CEC Gyanesh Kumar over SIR roll changes

A legal petition has been submitted to the Supreme Court seeking criminal prosecution of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg, and Election Commission IT chief Seema Khanna for purported breaches of statutory duties during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi with representation by Chand Qureshi, the plea alleges that Kumar unilaterally implemented decisions, guidelines and software modifications without the concurrence of the two other election commissioners, violating the Representation of the People Act.

The petition asks the court to declare all such SIR-related actions, including changes to Form 6 and the handling of roll data, as illegal and to restore the original Form 6. It also seeks the formation of a Special Investigation Team to examine the alleged removal of roughly 13 crore voter entries across 30 states and union territories. The filing references a recent one outlet's report that election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded objections on at least 14 occasions to the contested decisions. The Election Commission, however, maintains that the actions taken over the past year were unanimous, according to its own statements.