Supreme Court Issues Notice To ECI On Pleas Against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, Grants 2 Weeks For Rejoinder

News india Supreme Court Issues Notice To ECI On Pleas Against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, Grants 2 Weeks For Rejoinder

Last Updated:October 27, 2026, 12:47 IST

The Supreme Court issued notice to the ECI on pleas challenging CEC Gyanesh Kumar's decision-making and granted two weeks to file a rejoinder to the poll body's affidavit.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to the Election Commission of India (ECI) on petitions challenging the poll body’s functioning and alleging that Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar took decisions unilaterally. The court also granted two weeks to the petitioners to file a rejoinder to the Election Commission’s affidavit. The next hearing would be taken up on November 17.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana heard the matter.

According to Live Law, senior advocate Dr Menaka Guruswamy, appearing for Trinamool Congress MP Dola Sen, told the court that the petitions concerned the functioning of the Election Commission, including alleged tampering with online Form 6, used for new voter registration.

She also alleged that the ECI had issued a press note claiming that the Supreme Court had authorised such tampering.

Responding to the submissions, the Chief Justice said, “We will examine."

Guruswamy urged the court to issue notice, arguing that the Election Commission’s response accepted several of the allegations raised by the petitioners. The Chief Justice subsequently confirmed that notice was being issued.

During the hearing, Guruswamy questioned the poll body’s justification for the alleged tampering with Form 6, saying, “Please see the audacity of the institution justifying tampering with the Form."

Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the Election Commission, objected to the submissions, describing the rhetoric as being directed towards another purpose and arguing that it should not be permitted.

The proceedings also involved a discussion on the time required to respond to the ECI’s affidavit. Senior advocate Vikas Singh sought one week to file a rejoinder, stating that there was considerable material to be placed before the court.

The bench ultimately granted two weeks to file the rejoinder. The court also granted the Election Commission liberty to file the same counter-affidavit in other petitions concerning the issue or submit an additional affidavit in those matters.

Advocate Matthews Nedumpara subsequently raised the issue of maintainability of the petitions. According to Live Law, the court then shut off the audio-video feed.

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Vani Mehrotra

Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has more than 10 years of experience in national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

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