New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday (September 29) agreed to hear a plea seeking the suspension of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar after a media report alleged that took decisions without considering suggestions of other two election commissioners on the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral roles .
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant agreed to list the matter after advocate Vikas Singh mentioned the petition filed by Rakesh Kumar Singh and sought an early hearing. However, the CJI did not specify an exact date.
The petition has sought, among other reliefs, Kumar’s suspension from functioning as CEC. It also urged the apex court to declare that decisions falling within the Election Commission’s authority cannot be taken unilaterally by the Chief Election Commissioner.
Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the petitioner, argued that the Election Commission’s decisions must be taken unanimously or by majority. Addressing the CJI, he questioned whether the nationwide exercise had received the approval of the full Commission.
“The purpose of having a multi-member Commission was that, and the statute says so, that it has to be a decision unanimously or by majority. Now, the way the Election Commission has functioned, there is serious doubt about whether there was a decision of the Election Commission for this entire exercise of special intensive revision. Because if the Commission has not taken a unanimous decision, then this… What the Court has also decided is on the basis that it is a Commission’s decision. So it is a serious issue,” Singh told the Chief Justice of India.
The plea comes against the backdrop of reports alleging that several decisions were issued in the name of the Election Commission despite objections raised by the other two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
According to the petition, the two Commissioners recorded at least 14 objections between October 2025 and August 2026 concerning decisions and administrative measures allegedly undertaken without the full Commission’s approval.
This is the second petition filed before the Supreme Court in connection with the controversy. An earlier plea sought criminal prosecution of Kumar over allegations concerning the Election Commission’s decision-making process.
The matter is expected to come up before the Supreme Court next week, although a hearing date has yet to be announced.
A massive political controversy erupted after a media report alleged that Kumar took decisions regarding SIR without considering suggestion by two election commissioners – Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. The Opposition has ben demanding Umar’s resignation.
Responding to the report, the Election Commission maintained that differences of opinion are a routine part of institutional deliberations. It further asserted that all orders issued over the past year were based on unanimous decisions taken by the full Commission.