Mahua Moitra demands case against Gyanesh Kumar after EC dissent on SIR report

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Thursday submitted a complaint at Parliament Street police station in New Delhi, seeking registration of an FIR against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over reports that two election commissioners had objected to several decisions of the poll panel during the SIR exercise. Police are yet to register an FIR.Moitra, a Lok Sabha MP from the Mamata Banerjee-led party, cited a report by The Indian Express which said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected at least 14 times in the past 10 months to decisions and orders of the Election Commission, including on the addition, deletion and restoration of voters and changes to the voter registration process.In her complaint, Moitra said the chief election commissioner had "no power to act for the Commission against the recorded opinion of both his colleagues, and none whatsoever to issue communications in its name which it has never approved".

She also raised the issue of misuse of public money, saying substantial funds were sanctioned and released for the SIR exercise.The TMC leader said that while she was aware of the immunity provided to the CEC and election commissioners from civil or criminal court proceedings for acts, words or decisions made in their official capacity under Section 16 of the CEC and EC Act, 2023, "it says nothing about registering a First Information Report or an investigation, which are statutory duties cast upon the police and are not proceedings before a court at all".

She said, "They cannot also get on the rolls. So this is criminal conduct, and they cannot hide behind Section 16 of the CEC and EC Act of 2023. That gives you immunity from discharging your official function. Your official function is when you act along with three commissioners as an election commission. If you turn rogue and turn a criminal, and you do not listen to the other two election commissioners, you serve all power."

Moitra also said Kumar was not an independent election commissioner and that the CEC could not take any decision without the other two ECs." All the decisions taken by Gyanesh Kumar were certainly not majority decisions. The decisions conveyed on behalf of the Election Commission were actually falsified because they were done by one person without the consent of the other two. Hence, he cannot enjoy immunity and is open to prosecution," she said.

She also said, "Today, all over India, 13 crore voters have been deleted. What will happen to their children? What will happen to their children who turn 18?" In her complaint, Moitra said, "In consideration of the above facts, I request that a First Information Report be registered and the offences investigated, that the role of each person involved be ascertained, that the relevant witnesses, including the two Election Commissioners, be examined, and that the evidence be secured without delay so as to prevent its destruction or manipulation."

After the Indian Express report, EC officials said the two election commissioners had flagged decisions taken during the poll roll clean-up and the handling of the voter database in various states. EC sources, however, maintained that all decisions of the Election Commission of India, including SIR, had been unanimous and had the approval of both election commissioners and the CEC.The complaint by Moitra centres on the claim that decisions were issued without the approval of the full Commission, while Election Commission sources have said all such decisions, including those linked to SIR, were taken unanimously.- EndsWith PTI inputsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Sep 24, 2026 17:49 IST