In a counter-affidavit filed on October 26, the Commission rejected allegations of unilateral decision-making by the Chief Election Commissioner and called the plea against him not maintainable.

BulletsIn

• The Election Commission filed its counter-affidavit in the Supreme Court on October 26, 2026.
• Deputy Election Commissioner Bhanu Prakash Yeturu filed it, and the affidavit says all three Commission members approved it unanimously.
• It responds to a plea by Rakesh Kumar Singh challenging Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's functioning and the legality of certain Commission decisions.
• The Commission says the SIR orders dated June 24, 2025, October 27, 2025 and May 14, 2026 were all unanimous decisions of the full Commission.
• The three-member Commission comprises CEC Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
• It argues that the plea rests on a single news report and is not maintainable.
• Citing Article 324(5), it says the CEC can be removed only in the manner and on the grounds applicable to a Supreme Court judge.
• On October 5, while issuing notice on the petition, the Court had refused an ex-parte interim order suspending the CEC.
• The Commission denies amending Form 6, saying the three SIR orders made no change to the form.
• It says that from October 21 the online application is split into Form 6 and a separate declaration, as in the physical form.
• On October 27, the Court deferred the main petitions to November 17 so petitioners can respond to the affidavit.
• The Supreme Court has not issued a final ruling on the allegations.