Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Sunday accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of taking unilateral decisions on matters linked to SIR and demanded his resignation. He also urged the Supreme Court to examine the matter and consider nullifying elections held recently.
According to the former Union minister, the issue had serious implications for elections conducted over the past ten months.
Sibal pointed to a statement issued by the Election Commission on Saturday, arguing that it effectively admitted that decisions had been made unanimously within the poll body during this period — without the concurrence of the other commissioners.
Speaking at a press conference in New Delhi, he alleged that decisions were being taken unilaterally rather than by the full three-member commission. Meetings, he said, were held without agendas being circulated or minutes being recorded, leaving the other commissioners unable to review or weigh in on what had been decided.
He went further, accusing the Chief Election Commissioner of unilateral conduct and alleging that voter additions and deletions were being centralised in Delhi through ECI Net under Seema Khanna, bypassing the statutory electoral registration officers who would normally handle such changes.
Sibal also flagged changes made to Form 6, which now requires parent and grandparent details, claiming these were introduced without the Central Government notification required under the law.
On the question of criminal immunity under a new law introduced by the Modi government, he argued that Seema Khanna — who oversees ECI Net operations — enjoys no such statutory protection and should therefore be arrested and questioned.
He closed by calling for Supreme Court intervention, urging the court to examine the Election Commission’s records, any dissent notes and the orders he alleges were passed unilaterally.
He pressed that the court should take suo motu cognizance of the matter and consider whether the recent elections should be annulled.