Election Commission defends revision orders in Supreme Court affidavit

NEW DELHI — The Election Commission of India has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court maintaining that all Special Intensive Revision (SIR) orders issued between June 2025 and May 2026 were unanimous and executed in full accordance with the legal framework.

The affidavit was submitted in response to a Public Interest Litigation accusing Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of taking unilateral decisions regarding the SIR process. The petition alleged that these actions resulted in the deletion of 13.36 crore names from voter rolls during the draft stage. The litigation follows media reports indicating that two Election Commissioners had previously opposed modifications to Form 6, contending that such alterations fell exclusively under the purview of the central government.

Challenging the maintainability of the petition, the poll panel described the legal challenge as misconceived and asserted it was based solely on a single newspaper report. The joint affidavit, signed by a Deputy Election Commissioner on behalf of the Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners, stated that the SIR orders issued on 24 June 2025, 27 October 2025, and 14 May 2026 possessed proper authorisation.

Addressing the dispute over documentation, the ECI denied amending Form 6. The poll panel stated that it merely rationalised the format of the declaration form utilised during the SIR process in Bihar. Furthermore, the commission reiterated its stance that Aadhaar does not establish citizenship and will serve strictly as proof of identity.

The affidavit explained that individual suggestions and differing views among the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners are thoroughly considered before any formal resolution is reached, either unanimously or by majority. It further noted that observations or queries raised by an individual commissioner do not constitute a decision of the Election Commission under Section 18 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023.

The filing also acknowledged that two Election Commissioners wrote to the Cabinet Secretary on 29 July 2026 concerning the conduct of an Additional Secretary-rank IAS officer on deputation who had issued an internal work allocation order. According to the affidavit, that internal order was never implemented following a joint direction issued by the two commissioners.

A Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant is scheduled to hear the PIL and related petitions concerning the Special Intensive Revision.