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Peek TV | September 30, 2026
SIR, We Have A Problem: For Democracy’s Sake, ‘You Need To Go’
The Fact: The Supreme Court will hear a plea next week questioning whether Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar took major decisions on the electoral rolls without the concurrence of the other two Election Commissioners, and challenging the legality of the nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls. Meanwhile, the Congress Working Committee has demanded his removal, with Mallikarjun Kharge calling him a “puppet”. The party has listed five demands: suspend SIR, restore 13.3 crore names removed from voter rolls, make all changes public, give voters a chance to appeal and ensure political parties get voter data in an accessible format, along with an independent inquiry into serious irregularities.
The Context: The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions concerning electoral rolls and SIR. According to the report, the two Commissioners raised concerns over decisions taken without their knowledge or approval, including changes to voter-registration forms, deletion and restoration of names, access to electoral-roll data and the handling of SIR-related legal matters. The 2023 law says the Commission’s business should, as far as possible, be conducted unanimously; where Commissioners differ, the majority view prevails. As far as the Congress’ demand goes, Article 324(5) protects the CEC from removal except through the same process and on the same grounds as a Supreme Court judge. Section 16 of the 2023 Act also bars courts from entertaining or continuing civil or criminal proceedings for acts done in the discharge, or purported discharge, of official duties.
The Peek Insight: The dispute is about more than one CEC or one SIR exercise. The Election Commission is constitutionally entrusted with managing elections and electoral rolls, making credibility central to public confidence. Opposition parties are stakeholders in that process, alongside voters. When major parties question how electoral decisions are made, the issue raises questions about transparency, collective decision-making and safeguards for affected voters. The Supreme Court hearing could therefore clarify how the Election Commission exercises its powers, legal protections and maintains public confidence in elections and electoral administration across India today.
