Sibal slams CEC for 'unilateral decisions', urges SC to consider annulling recent polls

NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Sunday accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of taking "unilateral decisions" related to the SIR, demanding that he be removed from office and that the Supreme Court consider nullifying the elections conducted recently.

The former Union minister said while Kumar has been given immunity from criminal prosecution through a new law brought in by the Modi government, Seema Khanna, who managed ECI NET operations and does not possess statutory immunity, must be arrested and an FIR lodged against her.

Khanna's role has come under scrutiny amid the row over The Indian Express report that questions were repeatedly raised on issues related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls within the three-member Election Commission (EC) by two of the three commissioners -- Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.

The national rollout of the special intensive revision (SIR) has been under the supervision of all three commissioners.

But Sandhu and Joshi have formally objected, on record, at least 14 times over the last 10 months to decisions taken and orders issued, they say, without their knowledge, according to the report in the English daily.

Referring to the Election Commission statement on Saturday, Sibal claimed that the CEC acknowledged decisions were not taken unanimously over the past several months.

He alleged that actions were decided "unilaterally" by Gyanesh Kumar rather than by the full Commission.

Commission meetings operated without distributed agendas or recorded minutes, preventing other commissioners from reviewing or commenting on decisions, he claimed at a press conference here.

Sibal noted that these unilateral practices spanned 10 months, covering state elections from June 2025 (Bihar) through April 2026 (West Bengal).

Decisions regarding voter additions and deletions were centralised in Delhi via ECI NET under Seema Khanna, bypassing statutory Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), Sibal claimed.

Pointing out that Khanna managed ECI NET operations and does not possess statutory immunity, Sibal demanded an immediate FIR and her arrest.

Sibal said the modifications to Form 6 -- requiring parent or grandparent details -- were implemented without the required central government notification.

With election processes from Bihar to West Bengal violating statutory rules, Sibal claimed that all elections held during these 10 months are "illegal".

Sibal called on the Supreme Court to examine EC records, dissent notes, and unilateral orders. He said the Supreme Court must take suo motu cognisance of these issues and consider that the recent elections be annulled.

Upping the ante over the SIR row, the Opposition has demanded Kumar's immediate arrest, removal from office, and an independent review of all decisions and electoral roll changes made under him.