New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday, September 29, agreed to hear next week a petition seeking suspension of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and challenging the alleged manner in which decisions were taken by the Election Commission without the approval of other members of the poll panel.

The matter was mentioned before a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana. Senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the petitioner, argued that decisions of the multi-member Election Commission are required to be taken unanimously or through a majority decision.

The petition, filed by Patna resident Rakesh Kumar Singh, seeks directions to prevent CEC Kumar from exercising the functions of the Chief Election Commissioner until the matter is decided. It also seeks a declaration that powers under Article 324 of the Constitution must be exercised collectively by the Election Commission.

The plea comes amid controversy over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. It refers to reports claiming that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi raised objections on several occasions regarding decisions allegedly taken without their approval.

The Election Commission has maintained that differing views and observations are part of institutional deliberations and that all its decisions have legal validity.

The petition has sought records, including meeting minutes, approval documents, file notes and digital access details, to examine whether procedures were followed in matters related to electoral rolls and other decisions of the Commission.