The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, granted petitioners 10 days to file a rejoinder to a 248-page counter-affidavit submitted by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The poll panel’s response strongly defended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and rejected allegations of unauthorized procedural changes.
A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, issued notice on a fresh petition filed by Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen. The plea alleges that modifications were made to statutory Form 6—used for voter registration during the Bihar SIR exercise—without judicial authorization.
Election Commission Rejects Misconduct Allegations
In its response filed through Deputy Election Commissioner Bhanu Prakash Yeturu, the poll panel asserted that the SIR was fully authorized by law and that all related orders received unanimous approval from Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
”The attempt to make aspersions against the Election Commission is unfortunate,” the ECI stated in its affidavit, clarifying that no alterations were made to the statutory Form 6.
Senior Advocate Maneka Guruswamy, representing MP Dola Sen, contended that the EC incorrectly asserted that the changes had prior Supreme Court approval. In response, CJI Surya Kant directed Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, representing lead petitioner Rakesh Kumar Singh, to submit a comprehensive rejoinder within 10 days.
Internal Rift Allegations Trigger Opposition Protests
The Supreme Court petitions follow investigative media reports alleging that Election Commissioners Sandhu and Joshi had expressed written objections on at least 14 occasions regarding SIR decisions passed without their prior concurrence.
The reported internal disagreement has sparked intense protests across opposition political parties, demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The Supreme Court confirmed it will review all related claims together during the upcoming hearing.
