India’s Election Commission is at the centre of a growing political and legal controversy over how voter rolls are being revised. At the centre of it is Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Opposition parties and the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP, have accused the poll panel of irregularities in the voter-verification process. The Election Commission has rejected allegations of political manipulation and said differences within a multi-member institution are part of normal deliberations.
Now, the Supreme Court is also set to hear a plea concerning Kumar and decisions taken by the Election Commission.
So, who is Gyanesh Kumar and why has his role become a national talking point?
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Who Is Gyanesh Kumar?
Gyanesh Kumar is a former Indian Administrative Service officer and the 26th Chief Election Commissioner of India.
A 1988-batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre, Kumar took charge as an Election Commissioner on 15 March 2024. He became Chief Election Commissioner on 19 February 2025, succeeding Rajiv Kumar.
Before joining the Election Commission, Kumar held several senior government positions.
According to the ECI, he served as Secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and the Ministry of Cooperation. He had also worked in the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Home Affairs. In Kerala, he served in departments including public works and finance and was also District Collector of Ernakulam.
He studied civil engineering at IIT Kanpur and also pursued studies in business finance and environmental economics.
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Why Is He In The News?
The current controversy centres on the revision and verification of electoral rolls, including the Special Intensive Revision, or SIR.
Reuters reported on 28 September that political analysts estimated around 130 million names had been removed from voter lists during the latest revision process. The figures and the reasons behind individual exclusions have become a major point of political dispute.
The controversy intensified after an The Indian Express report said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised at least 14 formal objections over 10 months concerning voter rolls, registration procedures and the Election Commission’s digital systems.
That has raised a bigger institutional question: how are decisions being taken inside a three-member Election Commission?
The ECI has said that differing views and written observations are a normal part of institutional deliberations. It has also maintained that its decisions, including those related to SIR, were lawful.
On 26 September, the Commission announced a review of its voter-roll software. It said a committee led by a senior election official and including an independent technology expert would examine whether the software complied with election laws and rules. It also said local officials would visit voters flagged for discrepancies instead of routinely requiring them to appear at government offices.
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What Does The CJP Say?
The Cockroach Janta Party has taken the controversy further.
The youth-led group has demanded Kumar’s resignation and called for an independent investigation into decisions taken during the SIR process. It has also demanded that disputed exclusions be halted and that the January 2025 electoral rolls be secured while the process is examined.
The CJP has also questioned the Election Commission’s appointment framework and called for the repeal of the 2023 law governing the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners.
The group announced a nationwide protest campaign, with its first planned protest in Mumbai on 2 October. These are demands and allegations made by the CJP, not findings established by a court.
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What Has The Supreme Court Got To Do With It?
A separate petition has now reached the Supreme Court.
The plea, filed by Rakesh Kumar Singh, seeks several forms of relief, including the suspension of Kumar as CEC and a declaration that powers vested in the Election Commission cannot be exercised unilaterally by its Chairperson. It also seeks an independent judicial inquiry into 14 decisions allegedly taken despite objections from the other two Election Commissioners.
The petition relies on Article 324 of the Constitution and argues that election-related powers belong to the Election Commission as an institution rather than to the CEC acting individually.
On 28 September, Senior Advocate Vikas Singh mentioned the matter before a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. The Court agreed to an early listing. During the hearing, Singh argued that the Commission is a multi-member body and that its decisions must follow the applicable framework for unanimous or majority decision-making.
The Court has therefore not ruled that Kumar acted unlawfully. The allegations in the petition remain matters for judicial consideration.
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What Happens Next?
For now, three strands of the controversy are running together: the voter-roll revision, reported disagreements within the Election Commission, and legal challenges to the way decisions were made.
Kumar remains the Chief Election Commissioner. The ECI continues to defend the legality of its process, while the CJP and opposition parties are demanding greater scrutiny.
The Supreme Court’s upcoming hearing could bring greater clarity on the legal questions surrounding the Commission’s decision-making process. Until then, allegations about voter manipulation or unilateral decision-making should not be treated as established findings.
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TL;DR | News At a Glance
Who is Gyanesh Kumar?
Gyanesh Kumar is India’s 26th Chief Election Commissioner. A 1988-batch IAS officer, he became an Election Commissioner in March 2024 and CEC in February 2025.
Why is Gyanesh Kumar in the news?
The CEC is currently in the spotlight over the Election Commission’s electoral-roll revision exercise, including the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), and reported differences within the poll panel.
What has the CJP said?
The Cockroach Janta Party has called for Kumar’s resignation and sought an independent examination of issues it has raised about the electoral-roll revision process.
What has the Election Commission said?
The ECI has defended its procedures and said differences among Election Commissioners can form part of institutional deliberations. It has also announced a review of its voter-roll software.
What is the Supreme Court doing?
The Supreme Court has agreed to an early listing of a petition concerning the functioning of the Election Commission and decisions related to SIR. The legal issues raised in the petition are yet to be considered by the Court.
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