New Delhi: The reported disagreements within the Election Commission over electoral-roll revision have raised questions about the functioning of all three members of the poll panel.
A recent report said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded objections on several issues over 10 months, including changes to Form 6, voter data access and aspects of the Commission’s IT systems.
The allegations have placed Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar under scrutiny. Questions have also emerged about how the two commissioners responded to the disagreements and whether their concerns were formally considered by the full Commission.
One reported dispute involved changes to Form 6, which is used for new voter registration. Sandhu and Joshi reportedly questioned whether such changes could be introduced without amendments to the relevant rules.
Another issue concerned the centralisation of electoral-roll data and administrative control over the Commission’s IT infrastructure.
The Election Commission has insisted that all of its rulings, including those pertaining to the Special Intensive Revision, were made by consensus.. This makes the records of Commission meetings, objections and final decisions important for establishing how the reported disagreements were resolved.
Questions have also been raised over the two commissioners’ reported communication with the Cabinet Secretary regarding an administrative order. Critics have asked why the matter was taken to a government official rather than being resolved through the Commission’s institutional mechanisms.
The controversy therefore extends beyond the question of individual dissent. It concerns how disagreements within a constitutional body are recorded, resolved and communicated, and whether the decision-making process followed the applicable legal framework.