PIL filed before Supreme Court seeking prosecution of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, SIT probe over SIR decisions

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking criminal prosecution of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over alleged statutory violations linked to the SIR, amid objections reportedly raised by two Election Commissioners.

A plea has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking the criminal prosecution of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged breaches of his statutory duties in connection with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Live Law reported.

According to the report, advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi filed the petition under Article 32 of the Constitution, challenging decisions, guidelines and software changes allegedly carried out by Kumar without the concurrence of the other two Election Commissioners. The plea also seeks to have these actions declared unconstitutional and void.

The petition was filed days after The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on at least 14 occasions over decisions and orders concerning the SIR, including changes to Form 6 and the management of electoral-roll data. The report said the decisions related to objections allegedly taken without their knowledge or contrary to their recommendations.

Also Read | ‘One-man autocracy’? How ‘illegal’ deletions hit 13 crore voters during SIR; EC plays down expose

The petitioner has further sought directions to the competent authority to file complaints and launch prosecution under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, against Kumar, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg, Director General (IT) Seema Khanna, and any other officials found responsible for the alleged dereliction of official duty, according to Live Law. 

The plea relies on Section 32, which prescribes punishment for specified breaches of official duty concerning the preparation, revision, or correction of electoral rolls.

The petition alleges that the violations include unauthorised changes to Form 6 and the centralisation of electoral-roll databases. Tripathi’s plea also reportedly refers to the alleged failure to restore eligible voters through the ECINet system and the filing of 16.10 lakh appeals in West Bengal challenging the inclusion of voters purportedly in the name of the Election Commission of India (ECI), the report added.

SIT sought to probe discrepancies in SIR

According to the report, the petitioner has sought an independent judicial inquiry or a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by a retired Supreme Court judge and assisted by cybersecurity and IT experts. The proposed panel would conduct a forensic audit of the ECINet and ERONet databases and examine the circumstances surrounding the alleged deletion of 13 crore names across 30 States and Union Territories during the SIR exercise.

The petitioner has also sought the identification of those responsible for allegedly filing 16.10 lakh appeals in West Bengal challenging the inclusion of voters without authorisation.

Earlier, The CJP founder on Thursday (September 24) demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and warned of a “Jantar Mantar 2.0” protest if his demand was not accepted.

Also Read | ‘Treason’, ‘autocracy’ and ‘go to jail’: Opposition blows up EC over ‘illegal’ SIR deletions – who said what

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