Election Commission Defends Decisions in Supreme Court Filing

New Delhi, October 26 (Daily Kiran) : The Election Commission of India (ECI) has submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court, asserting that the three orders issued in June 2025, October 2025, and May 2026 were made unanimously. The ECI acknowledged that the online application forms may have appeared to be modified. Starting October 21, the online application will show Form 6 and the declaration separately, as is done in the physical form.

The ECI stated that voters not mapped to specific addresses will not need to appear in person for hearings. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will collect necessary documents at voters’ homes. Hearings will only occur in extraordinary circumstances and will be conducted online whenever possible.

The Commission clarified that no voter’s name can be added or removed from the electoral roll without the order of the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO). To ensure compliance with regulations, a committee of experts from IIT and IISc has been formed.

Addressing the case of 97 voters from Goa, the ECI noted that 88 were already on the electoral list, six were overseas, and three held Portuguese passports.

Regarding appeals from West Bengal, the Commission explained that appeals against the inclusion of names in the voter list were filed by the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) and West Bengal officials under the Supreme Court’s directives. The ECI emphasized that these matters were not brought before the Commission.

The Election Commission raised questions about the admissibility of petitions seeking the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), likening the process to that of removing a Supreme Court judge. The Commission also rejected requests for the release of internal documents to the media, stating it has neither issued nor permitted the release of any internal notes or files.

Commenting on petitions related to Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the ECI noted that the Supreme Court has previously dismissed such petitions multiple times. The Commission requested permission to submit a detailed response, explaining that the brief response filed was due to the Dussehra holiday.

This affidavit was filed in response to petitions questioning the functioning of the Chief Election Commissioner. The ECI stated that the counter-affidavit submitted was approved unanimously by the CEC and both Election Commissioners. The affidavit addresses claims made by opposition leaders, including Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, regarding the Commission’s operations and the Special Intensive Review (SIR) in various states.

In the affidavit, the ECI dismissed allegations against the CEC, asserting that the petitions were based solely on media reports. Claims of unilateral decision-making by CEC Gyanesh Kumar were labeled as incorrect.

According to the affidavit, the three SIR orders (June 2025, October 2025, and May 2026) were decisions made by consensus. It explained that the file system requires the file to pass through each Election Commissioner before reaching the CEC, indicating that notes or questions do not constitute decisions.

The affidavit also clarified that an order issued on July 28 was released by the Additional Secretary. Following this, both Election Commissioners wrote to the Cabinet Secretary the next day. The order was not implemented after joint directives from both commissioners on July 30. The affidavit confirmed that no changes were made to Form 6, which can only be altered by the government. Starting October 21, the online form will also be divided into two sections: Form 6 and the declaration.