एसआयआर वाद: मुख्य निवडणूक आयुक्त ज्ञानेश कुमारांना अटक करून सात...

By GT24x7 Reporter · 23 September 2026 · GlobalToday24x7

A massive political controversy erupted on Wednesday after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal demanded the immediate arrest and treason prosecution of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Kejriwal asserted that an investigative report published by *The Indian Express* confirmed systemic irregularities in voter list management and substantiated long-standing opposition allegations regarding electoral manipulation.

Kejriwal demanded that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process be rescinded and called for the annulment and fresh conduct of recent assembly elections in several states and Union territories, specifically naming Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. The statement triggered sharp reactions across political lines, placing the governance and decision-making architecture of the constitutional poll body under heightened institutional scrutiny.

Allegations of Bypassing Collegial Decision-Making

Central to Kejriwal's critique was the revelation that two sitting Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, had officially recorded 14 formal objections over a ten-month span against unilateral administrative decisions and orders issued by the poll panel. The report indicated that extensive alterations—including modifications to Form 6 for new voter registrations and the centralisation of electoral roll databases via internal IT departments—had been executed without the knowledge, deliberation, or formal consensus of the full commission.

Invoking Supreme Court jurisprudence and the statutory framework governing the Election Commission, Kejriwal stressed that the constitutional entity cannot function under unilateral executive authority. "The Supreme Court has made it clear that the Election Commission is not a one-man show. It comprises three individuals: the Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners. Decisions must be made collectively and unanimously; no single person has the authority to dictate directives to officers or run the panel independently," Kejriwal stated, alleging that the statutory principle of collegiality had been disregarded.

The Special Intensive Revision and Voter List Alterations

The dispute centers on the operational rollout of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), an exercise initiated across multiple regions that has involved the scrutiny, deletion, and addition of millions of entries from draft electoral rolls. Internal dissents highlighted by the Commissioners pointed to procedural changes that permitted centralized software mechanisms to override the traditional statutory jurisdiction exercised by local Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) on the ground.

Furthermore, the objections addressed alterations introduced to Form 6, which added prerequisites questioning whether applicants or their forebears figured in previous SIR records—a condition the two dissenting commissioners described in written communications as unauthorized and legally untenable. Opposition parties noted that centralizing database access diluted historical decentralized checks and balances, potentially disenfranchising eligible citizens.

Wider Political Repercussions and Institutional Defenses

Kejriwal's demands were accompanied by coordinated reactions from other major opposition groupings, including the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT), who questioned the autonomy of the Election Commission and sought accountability regarding internal dissension. Opposition figures argued that the absence of administrative explanations from the poll body on the Commissioners' written concerns eroded public confidence in democratic processes.

Conversely, representatives aligned with the ruling establishment and administrative observers pushed back against the accusations, describing the claims as an attempt to delegitimize democratic outcom...