Supreme Court issues notices to ECI and Centre over disputed decisions

The Supreme Court of India has questioned claims made by the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding modifications to its Form 6 declaration. While the ECI had previously asserted that the Supreme Court upheld the Form 6 declaration, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) clarified, "Any modified Form 6 has NOT been approved by us."

This development follows reports from the IE indicating that two Election Commissioners objected to changes in Form 6, though the modifications still went ahead. In a September 26 response, the ECI maintained that the declaration was upheld by the court, prompting the CJI to state that the court would "like to see who has modified what."

The controversy extends beyond the dispute over Form 6. A petition alleges that Gyanesh Kumar made key decisions unilaterally, without receiving agreement from the other two commissioners. The petition cites 14 recorded objections regarding these decisions.

In response to these allegations, the Supreme Court has issued notices to the Centre, the ECI, Gyanesh Kumar, and the other Election Commissioners, seeking their records and responses. However, the Court declined to suspend Kumar from office immediately, refusing to do so without first hearing from the respondents.

While the ECI maintains that its decisions were taken collectively, the Supreme Court has stated it will examine the records. The CJI warned, "If there is any violation, we will undo."