New Delhi, 05 October—Beleaguered and under growing all round attack including the apex court’s probing scrutiny for the Election Commission’s wrong doings, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar following advice from the powers that be is said to be actively considering to put in his papers soon, top sources in the Modi government indicated today.
While the Congress said today that Gyanesh Kumar has betrayed the Constitution in letter and spirit at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah, public protests led by the youth across the country demanding the CEC resignation are swelling with every passing day.
The principal opposition party also called out the poll body’s “lies” defending “illegal” changes in Form 6 of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
The Supreme Court today issued notice to the Election Commission (EC) and the Centre on Monday, seeking responses to a plea challenging the manner in which the poll panel led by CEC Gyanesh Kumar took decisions allegedly without the approval of two Election Commissioners.
The apex court heard a petition seeking, among other things, the suspension of the CEC.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said it is now established beyond doubt that Gyanesh Kumar changed Form 6 “illegally and unilaterally”, and asserted that the CEC as well as everyone else involved in this “criminal assault on democracy” will be held accountable.
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X, pointed to CJI Surya Kant’s observation that the Supreme Court has not approved the modified Form 6 used to add new voters.
This “malicious” Form 6 modification, which was originally implied to have the Supreme Court’s approval, is one such example of his underhanded and indefensible conduct, Ramesh said.
“Obviously and very clearly, the CEC lied. In reality, the CEC has not only lied but also violated the law and betrayed the Constitution in letter and spirit at the behest of the PM and the HM,” Ramesh said. “Form 6 was deliberately modified by the CEC himself to delete Gen Z voters, of whom the Prime Minister is simply terrified.”
In a press note issued on 26 September 2026, the EC had defended the new declaration added to the online application of Form 6, which required new voters to declare whether they or their parents were mapped in the electoral rolls during the previous SIR.
The poll body claimed that the framework had been upheld by the Supreme Court in its May 2026 judgment regarding the Bihar SIR.
Ramesh also noted that this was an opportunity for the Supreme Court to restore confidence in the EC following “damning revelations” regarding its functioning.
“Based on the recent damning revelations regarding (1) the ad-hoc, illegal and slip-shod manner in which the SIR was taking place, (2) criticism from both sitting and retired Judges of the Supreme Court, (3) the vast and indiscriminate (and many obviously incorrect) deletions without adequate due process, the Supreme Court has a remarkable opportunity to restore public confidence in an institution vital to the integrity of our republic,” Ramesh wrote on X.
Ramesh noted the Supreme Court has chosen to seek a reply, and it has chosen not to pass any interim order.
The Supreme Court has, in the past, trusted the ECI and the CECs to give a fair account of their running of the body, he said.
“The Supreme Court would do well to note that the trust was based on decades of propriety and competent conduct, starting with the late great Sukumar Sen, the first CEC who set the bar for how elections are to be conducted. None of that goodwill can be claimed by Gyanesh Kumar,” Ramesh said.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana took note of the submissions of senior advocate Vikas Singh and issued the notice.
The bench said the decisions of the EC have to be either unanimous or by majority and that it presumed that this is how all decisions were taken.
The PIL, filed by Patna resident Rakesh Kumar Singh, urged the top court to determine whether the CEC has been exercising powers that legally belong to the Election Commission (EC) as a whole, and, if so, to declare those actions unauthorised and take appropriate legal action.
“Direct that respondent No.3 (CEC) shall not exercise the functions of Chief Election Commissioner of India pending final hearing of the present petition; direct that during such period, the business of the Commission be transacted by the unanimous decision of respondent Nos. 4 (Sukhbir Singh Sandhu) and 5 (Vivek Joshi); and direct that any appointment to the resulting vacancy be made upon the recommendation of a Committee, including the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India,” the plea stated.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday called Gyanesh Kumar an “enemy of the country” and alleged that the CEC had gone underground amid Opposition protests seeking his resignation.
Raut said the EC should meet Opposition MPs who faced injustice in states where it allegedly helped the ruling BJP, adding that all Opposition MPs would march to the poll panel’s New Delhi office on Tuesday.
The Modi government seems to be clueless as how to deal with the public anger over denial of the right to vote to millions of fellow citizens and that is why it is of the view that it would be far better to sacrifice Gyanesh Kumar to earn respite however shot it may turn out to be.
Veteran Journalist and Political Commentator
