Fresh petition in SC seeks CEC's criminal prosecution, SIT probe
What's the story
A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking criminal prosecution of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. The plea, filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi under Article 32 of the Constitution, accuses Kumar of violating statutory duties during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. It also seeks to declare decisions and software changes made by him without the concurrence of the other two election commissioners unconstitutional and void.
Internal dissent
Petition follows 'The Indian Express's report on Election Commission objections
The petition comes after a report in The Indian Express revealed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on at least 14 occasions over SIR-related decisions.
These objections included changes to Form 6 and management of electoral-roll data, allegedly taken without their knowledge or against their recommendations.
The petitioner has sought prosecution under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, for these alleged breaches.
Accusations detailed
Allegations of unauthorized changes and centralization of databases
The petitioner claims that the conduct complained of includes the alleged unauthorized modification of Form 6, the centralization of electoral-roll databases, the failure to restore eligible voters via the ECINet system, and the filing of 16.10 lakh appeals in West Bengal challenging the inclusion of voters purportedly in the name of the ECI.
They specifically sought directions to register complaints and initiate prosecution against Kumar, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg, Director General (IT) Seema Khanna, and other officials.
Proposed probe
Petitioner demands judicial probe into database issues
The petitioner also sought a judicial inquiry commission or special investigation team headed by a retired SC judge to conduct a forensic audit of ECINet and ERONet databases.
The proposed probe would also investigate the deletion of 13 crore names.
The petitioner further proposes that the SIT identify individual culpability for illegally filing 16.10 lakh petitions in Bengal opposing voter inclusion.
A day earlier, SC advocate, Brajesh Singh, sought the Attorney General's consent to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against Kumar.