Sibal Demands CEC’s Removal, Urges SC to Consider Annulment of Recent Polls

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Sunday accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of taking “unilateral decisions” on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and urged the Supreme Court to consider whether recent elections should be annulled if statutory violations are established.

Addressing a press conference, the former Union minister demanded Kumar’s removal and said the apex court should examine the Election Commission’s records, dissent notes and orders issued over the past 10 months. Sibal’s remarks came amid a controversy over an Indian Express report that said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over decisions and orders related to the SIR exercise.

According to the report, the two commissioners had formally objected to actions they said were taken without their knowledge. The nationwide SIR exercise has been supervised by all three members of the Election Commission.

Referring to an Election Commission statement issued on Saturday, Sibal alleged that Kumar had acknowledged that decisions were not always taken unanimously. He claimed that Commission meetings were conducted without properly circulated agendas or recorded minutes, limiting the ability of other commissioners to review or comment on decisions.

Sibal further alleged that voter additions and deletions were centralised through ECI NET, under the management of Seema Khanna, bypassing statutory Electoral Registration Officers (EROs).

He demanded that an FIR be registered against Khanna and that she be arrested, arguing that she does not enjoy the statutory immunity provided to the CEC under a new law. Sibal also questioned changes to Form 6, including requirements for parent or grandparent details, alleging they were introduced without the necessary government notification.

He claimed that elections conducted during the period, from Bihar in June 2025 to West Bengal in April 2026, were “illegal” and urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance and consider appropriate action. The Opposition has also demanded Kumar’s removal and an independent review of electoral-roll changes and decisions taken during the period.