ECI Tells Supreme Court All Three SIR Orders Were Unanimously Approved

The dispute concerns whether the Election Commission's SIR orders were approved collectively or decided by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar alone. India Today reported that the Commission denied the allegation that the CEC acted alone.

The pleas also challenged the approval process for decisions involving Form 6, used for enrolling voters. According to India News, petitioners alleged that several decisions, including changes to that form, were taken without the two Election Commissioners' approval.

The first of the three disputed SIR orders was issued on June 24, 2025. According to Mint, the Commission said in its counter-affidavit that this order had unanimous approval.

Two further orders followed on October 27, 2025, and May 14, 2026. The same affidavit said all three members approved those orders unanimously, Mint reported.

In its defence reported on October 26, 2026, the Commission also said Form 6 had not been amended. It explained that members' approval was obtained electronically in urgent matters, according to Legal News India.

The Commission asked for the petitions to be dismissed, saying they were based solely on newspaper reports, NDTV Top Stories reported. Its position was that the challenged decisions were unanimous, not unilateral.

The Commission's defence also addresses the legal position of the CEC. According to The Hindu, a common affidavit filed for the EC, CEC Kumar and Election Commissioners Sandhu and Joshi said the CEC could be removed only through a process like that for a Supreme Court judge. It argued that any attempt to restrain the CEC's functioning would be contrary to the 2023 Act.

Congress responded by urging the Supreme Court to summon records relating to SIR, Times of India India reported. That request puts the underlying records, rather than the Commission's assurances alone, at the centre of the continuing dispute.

The pending questions include whether the Supreme Court will summon the SIR records sought by Congress and whether it will accept the Commission's request to dismiss the petitions. The coverage reports the competing positions, but does not report a court decision on either request.