Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to pass an interim order suspending Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, while issuing notice to the Election Commission on a petition seeking his suspension.
Notice Issued to CEC and Both Election Commissioners
A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant issued notice to CEC Gyanesh Kumar and the other two election commissioners, asking them to respond. The petition challenges Election Commission decisions that were allegedly taken unilaterally, despite dissent from two of the commissioners.
Protests Spread as CJP Targets the Bench
Demonstrations demanding action against the CEC are being held across the country, including in Delhi and Mumbai. Cockroach Janta Party spokesperson Saurav Das issued a statement saying Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, who he said allowed the SIR process in Bengal and Bihar to proceed unhindered, should quietly recuse themselves from hearing the matter. He alleged that the Supreme Court had been involved in denying Gen Z’s voting rights and the verdicts of state elections, and claimed that delays in hearing key petitions, such as those on the fall of the Maharashtra government, party splits and the Delhi constitutional crisis, had benefited the BJP. He said the court’s credibility in the public eye would be zero, and that accountability would be decided by the people and the younger generation.
Justice Nariman Regrets Court Didn’t Halt SIR in Bengal
Earlier, former Supreme Court judge Justice Rohinton Nariman said he regretted that the court did not stay the SIR process despite 90 lakh voters’ names being removed in West Bengal. He called the figure shocking, saying the court took no concrete step to stop it. Of those affected, about 22 lakh voters appealed, he said, while the rest perhaps lacked the means to seek justice. He added that roughly 93 percent of the decisions on about 1 lakh of those appeals went in the voters’ favour, which he said suggested an illegal exclusion of ordinary citizens. He said this had ended up unseating the state government in West Bengal and bringing the Centre’s party to power, calling these deeply worrying developments for the country.
