The Supreme Court has agreed to hear next week a petition questioning the manner in which decisions have been taken by the Election Commission of India (ECI) under Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The matter was mentioned on Tuesday before a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana.
Senior advocate Vikas Singh, who mentioned the petition, submitted that under the law governing the multi-member Election Commission, decisions are required to be taken either unanimously or by majority. He raised questions over whether all recent decisions of the Commission had the concurrence of its members.
The petition comes amid reports of differences within the three-member poll panel over several decisions related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi have reportedly recorded objections on multiple occasions concerning SIR-related decisions and other matters.
According to reports, the two Election Commissioners had raised concerns over certain decisions and orders that they said were issued without their knowledge or recommendation. A separate petition before the Supreme Court has also sought an inquiry into decisions allegedly taken without the concurrence of the full Commission.
The Election Commission, however, has rejected the interpretation that the reported objections reflected a lack of consensus within the Commission. In its response, the ECI said that differing views and observations are a normal part of institutional deliberations and maintained that decisions taken over the past year had the unanimous approval of the full Commission.
The Supreme Court is expected to take up the petition next week, when it will consider the issues raised regarding the functioning and decision-making process of the poll panel.