CEC row LIVE: SC to hear pleas against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, decisions during SIR

Home News India The ECI, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the two Election Commissioners have filed a joint affidavit highlighting that any attempt to restrain the functioning of the CEC will be contrary to law Updated - October 27, 2026 11:57 am IST File picture of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi | Photo Credit: ANI The Supreme Court on Tuesday (October 27, 2026) will hear pleas against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the decisions taken by the Election Commission of India (ECI) during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.ALSO READ | What does the law say about CEC’s removal?A day before the hearing, the ECI, Mr. Kumar and the two Election Commissioners have filed a joint affidavit highlighting that any attempt to restrain the functioning of the CEC will be contrary to law. The nearly 250-page document filed in the top court late on Monday (October 26, 2026) said a CEC cannot be removed from office except in the manner and the grounds identical to ousting a Supreme Court judge.Follow live updates here:October 27, 2026 11:57 SIR: Over 99.32 lakh names struck off voter list in KarnatakaKarnataka’s final electoral roll under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has been published, with constituency-wise lists of voters now available on the Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) website.The State’s electorate now stands at 4,55,00,011, down from 5,54,32,314 voters before the SIR began. More than 99.32 lakh names have been knocked off the rolls, as part of the exercise that was launched with the stated aim of ensuring that every eligible voter was included and every ineligible name removed to achieve a ‘pure, clean electorate’. SIR: Over 99.32 lakh names struck off voter list in KarnatakaNet additions overall remain far lower than the number of names deleted at the draft stage, leaving close to one crore fewer voters on the final roll than before the SIR.October 27, 2026 11:45 ECI’s stand that additional declaration is not part of Form 6 comes days after SC said it will examine ‘new’ Form 6The Election Commission of India (ECI) has raised a razor-thin justification to allegations that it has unauthorisedly amended Form 6 to introduce extra-statutory requirements for voters whose names were deleted in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) to return to the electoral rolls.The ECI has introduced an additional declaration form along with Form 6 which require these voters to provide details of their earlier electoral roll entries or that of their parents or grandparents. The ECI calls the exercise ‘mapping’. Any perceived mismatch of lack of detail in this regard is broadly termed as ‘logical discrepancy’. In Delhi alone, there were initially 33.12 lakh cases of ‘no-mapping’ or ‘logical discrepancy’.ECI’s stand that additional declaration is not part of Form 6 comes days after SC said it will examine ‘new’ Form 6ECI defends adding a declaration with Form 6 amid SC scrutiny over new Form 6 and voter mapping during SIR.October 27, 2026 11:33 Recap | Changes to Form 6 not made by court: Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court on October 5, 2026 distanced itself from the controversial alterations made to Form 6 for registering new voters during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across several States, shifting scrutiny to the Election Commission of India (ECI)Changes to Form 6 not made by court; post-retirement immunity to CEC not given to even judges: Supreme CourtSupreme Court seeks responses from ECI and Centre after petitions alleging unilateral CEC-led decisions and immunity concerns in India’s election governance.October 27, 2026 11:27 CEC can be removed only like a Supreme Court judge, ECI tells top courtA common affidavit filed for the EC, CEC Kumar and Election Commissioners Sandhu and Joshi say that any attempt to restrain the CEC’s functioning is contrary to the 2023 Act; asserts that Form 6 was not amended; West Bengal CEO’s officers filed appeals against inclusionsCEC can be removed only like a Supreme Court judge, ECI tells top courtECI defends CEC's independence, rulings, and Form 6 integrity, detailing multi-member consensus and 2023 Act provisions before the Supreme Court. Published - October 27, 2026 11:27 am IST