Report of dissent inside the Election Commission revives opposition push to remove CEC

A report that two of the three Election Commissioners repeatedly objected to decisions on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has led opposition parties to prepare a third attempt to remove Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has rejected the suggestion that the objections point to any irregularity.

What the Indian Express reported

On 23 September, the Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected on record at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders they said were issued without their knowledge during the national rollout of the SIR. According to summaries of the report by ANI and The Week, the objections covered changes to Form 6, the statutory form for registering as a voter, additions to and deletions from rolls, and centralised control of the electoral roll database.

The Commission’s response

The ECI responded the same day. “The Commission operates as a multi-member constitutional body,” it said, and “Written notes, observations, technical suggestions and internal checks-and-balances are standard, ongoing practices.” It added:

All these decisions are an outcome of the unanimous decisions of the full Commission in the past one year.

The ECI also said every officer, not only the three Commissioners, is authorised to make suggestions, and that it “remains fully committed to executing its constitutional duties with complete integrity.”

The opposition’s steps

Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, wrote on X on 23 September: “Vote chori is a crime against the Indian people and a direct attack on our constitution.” Arvind Kejriwal, Uddhav Thackeray, Akhilesh Yadav, Abhishek Banerjee and John Brittas also criticised the Commission, ANI reported.

On 24 September, The Week, citing PTI, reported that INDIA bloc parties were drafting a fresh notice to remove the CEC in both Houses, to be filed after legal vetting. No report found by this desk as of 11 October says it has been submitted.

Opposition moves against the CEC

1. 12 Mar 2026Notices signed by 130 Lok Sabha and 63 Rajya Sabha MPs seek CEC Gyanesh Kumar's removal under Article 324(5).
2. 6 Apr 2026Speaker Om Birla and Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan refuse to admit both notices.
3. 24 Apr 202673 MPs file a second notice in the Rajya Sabha with nine charges; it remains pending.
4. 23 Sep 2026Indian Express reports dissent by two Election Commissioners; ECI says decisions were unanimous.
5. 24 Sep 2026INDIA bloc parties say a third notice is being drafted for both Houses.
6. 6-7 Oct 2026Opposition protests in Delhi seeking the CEC's resignation; Delhi Police register FIRs.

The March notices alleged “partisan and discriminatory conduct in office” and “mass disenfranchisement”, PTI reported. The Speaker and the Chairman refused to admit them under Section 3 of the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, after what the Rajya Sabha notification called “a careful and objective assessment”. The CEC can be removed only in the manner of a Supreme Court judge, on grounds of proven misbehaviour or incapacity.

Protests, FIRs and the courts

Opposition leaders protested in central Delhi on 6 and 7 October demanding the CEC’s resignation. Delhi Police registered at least four FIRs naming Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and others, alleging assault, obstruction of public servants and violation of prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS, PTI reported. A separate FIR alleges forced entry into Akashvani Bhawan. Police said 91 people, including several MPs, were detained. These are police cases; no court has ruled on them. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, in remarks aimed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, said: “The diabolical duo is nervous, rattled and desperate,” UNI reported.

The Supreme Court is also involved. On 5 October a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant said “Any modification to Form 6 has not been approved by us”, PTI reported, and issued notice on a petition asking whether the CEC can individually exercise powers vested in the full Commission, IANS reported. Rahul Gandhi said on X that it was “now established beyond doubt that Gyanesh Kumar changed Form 6 illegally and unilaterally”; the ECI called his claims misleading and said the Form 6 declaration had been upheld by the court, PTI reported. Separately, on 23 September, a two-judge bench split on whether the challenge to the 2023 law on appointing Election Commissioners needed a larger bench, then unanimously sent the papers to the Chief Justice to set up a Constitution Bench, Supreme Court Observer reported.