ECI DEFENDS UNANIMITY AMID REPORTS OF INTERNAL OBJECTIONS OVER ELECTORAL ROLLS

September 24, 2026

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India has said that all its decisions, including those concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, were taken unanimously by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.

The clarification came after reports that Sandhu and Joshi had recorded several objections over the past 10 months on issues including voter registration, deletion and restoration of names, electoral-roll appeals and the management of voter data. Reports also highlighted concerns over the centralisation of electoral-roll databases and the functioning of the EC’s information-technology systems.

One area of concern involved the role of the Commission’s Director General of IT, Seema Khanna. According to reports, the two Election Commissioners questioned whether the IT division had the authority to restrict access to electoral-roll systems that are used by statutory election officials. The issue has also been linked to difficulties faced by officials in Goa in updating voter records after eligibility decisions.

The Election Commission has maintained that internal observations and differences during deliberations do not alter the final decisions of the constitutional body. It said that SIR decisions were approved by all three commissioners, while the reported objections have triggered renewed political debate over electoral-roll management and the commission’s internal functioning