00:00While this debate continues, there's breaking news coming in and I quickly have to cut across to this breaking news.
00:04The Election Commission of India has filed its affidavit and its response to petitions in the Supreme Court
00:10over alleged abuse of power by the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar
00:16and changes that were made in the form, the Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Role Form 6.
00:23The Election Commission says it has decision-making process that includes deliberations and discussions.
00:31The Election Commission of India has denied news reports of unilateral decision-making by the CEC.
00:38The ECI has told the Supreme Court Form 6 has not been amended.
00:46Only the centre can amend it.
00:49The SIR declaration is a separate document.
00:53It admits that online display could be read as an amendment on the ECI net app issue.
01:01Says no name is added or deleted except by the order of the ERO.
01:06A committee with experts from IIT and Indian Institute of Science has been set up to check compliances.
01:13I want to quickly cut across to India Today's Anisha Mathur getting us the latest on this big story.
01:19Anisha, this is huge.
01:21The ECI is saying all decisions were taken in consultation, either unanimous or majority.
01:28Is that what they are saying?
01:29And that CEC did not take any decision on its own?
01:32Bring us details of the affidavit, Anisha.
01:36Well, yes, Gaurav, just as the Supreme Court is set to hear about nine petitions challenging the Election Commission's working,
01:45calling for action against the CEC, Yanesh Kumar, and questioning the decision-making process in the forms that have been
01:53changed for the SIR.
01:54The Election Commission has now filed its affidavit denying all of these allegations, denying the news reports.
02:02It has, in fact, said that all the work that has been done has been done as per the procedure
02:09and the law under the Election Commissioner's Condition of Work Act.
02:14The Election Commissioners, the letters written reportedly by the Election Commissioners to the Chief Secretary, to the Cabinet Secretary, I
02:22beg your pardon,
02:25were communications that should not be relied upon as far as, that should not be taken as a decision of
02:32the Election Commission,
02:33that the work allocation order controversy that had happened.
02:37The order was not implemented after this joint direction by the two commissioners.
02:41What is important for our voters, for the viewers, is that the Court, the Election Commission has said that names
02:48cannot be added or deleted from the rolls without an order from the ERO,
02:53that there are safeguards already in place.
02:56And most importantly, what they're saying is that the Form 6 has not been changed,
03:01but the declaration that was added was to ensure that people could be mapped because they learned from the Bihar
03:07SIR experience
03:09that when people were not able to, since mapping option was not available for the Bihar SIR,
03:16therefore people were asked to come back again and again with multiple documentations to show that they are eligible to
03:26vote.
03:26And that is why this option of declaration was added, so that people could declare their parents or grandparents,
03:34which would avoid the requirement of multiple rounds of verification and multiple documentation requirements.
03:40Yes, Form 6 remains the same.
03:44Form 6 annexure is to facilitate voters so that in case there is no data of parents,
03:51they can even go back to data of grandparents to make an entry.
03:55Is that what you're saying, point 1 and point 2?
03:58It's also very significant.
03:59The ECI in its affidavit insists that the three orders related to the special intensive revision of the electoral rolls
04:07issued on June 2025, issued on October 2025 and May 2026,
04:13three orders, ECI in an affidavit are saying that they are unanimous,
04:18they were approved unanimously by the commission.
04:21And should they say that, they would be giving corresponding documents,
04:25it would have signatures of all three officers, isn't it Anisha?
04:29Well, Gaurav, I'm still looking through the affidavit to see whether they've given the corresponding documentation or not.
04:37However, the affidavit itself does say that, yes, all the decision making was done unanimously by the election commission,
04:46that everything that has been done has been done according to, as per procedure.
04:51Now, the election commission, of course, had been asked to file detailed affidavit on all of these issues.
05:00But the orders, at the moment, what I can tell you, however,
05:07is that they have given a comparison of the SIR order of June 2025 and October 2025
05:16to show that there was no change in the Form 6 per se, only the declaration has been changed.
05:23There also, at the moment, however, I can tell you, I'm looking through the documentation that has been filed along
05:30with this affidavit,
05:32the annexure does not carry the documentations.
05:36Remember, the Supreme Court had earlier said that whatever file notings, etc., are there, should also be submitted.
05:42So, this affidavit, at least, does not have that particular documentation.
05:48However, what it does have is the orders that have been passed by the election commission,
05:55the SIR orders that have been passed by the election commission.
05:59And they're all unanimous.
06:02It's not even majority.
06:03They're saying it's unanimous.
06:05June 2025, October 2025 and May 2026 were approved unanimously by the election commission.
06:13And not only that, Anisha, it says that the affidavit was approved by all three members,
06:19Gyanesh Kumar, the chief election commissioner,
06:22and the two other election commissioners, Sukbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
06:26So, even the affidavit is unanimously submitted, all three are signatories, isn't it?
06:33We need to remember that the Supreme Court has, in fact, issued notice,
06:37not just to the election commission, but to the three commissioners, including the CEC,
06:41as individuals as well.
06:43Because the Supreme Court, after taking note of these petitions that had come to the Supreme Court,
06:49had specifically questioned this very issue,
06:52that were these decisions unanimous or not,
06:55that were all the processes that are supposed to be followed, followed properly or not.
07:01And the affidavit that has been filed now,
07:03and I'm reading to you from this affidavit,
07:06it says very clearly that the affidavit has been approved for filing before this court
07:15by a unanimous decision of the three members of the election commission,
07:18that is the CEC and the two election commissioners.
07:21They've categorically denied the news report.
07:25They've said clearly that the three SIR orders,
07:27whether it was the June 25 order or the later orders,
07:32were issued in accordance with decisions,
07:34arrived at unanimously,
07:36and taken in compliance of Article 324 of the Constitution of India
07:41and the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners Act of 2023.
07:45They have categorically denied the news reports,
07:49and in fact, they have said the attempt to make aspersions against the election commission is unfortunate.
07:56They've also argued that these petitions are filed only on the basis of news articles,
08:01that the commission is functioning according to the law,
08:05and that allegations have been made questioning the integrity of the election commission,
08:09and that is why they are clarifying the factual situation and the rules that have been followed.
08:17In fact, they've said that these petitions are misconceived,
08:21and that all decision-making and views,
08:25and in fact, what is interesting, Gaurav, is that they've also said,
08:29and I'm reading from the affidavit here,
08:31that all decision-making process, suggestions, observation, varying views or queries
08:36by officials within the chain of command are taken into consideration
08:43when any decision is being arrived at by the competent authority,
08:48that the views of the ECs and the CEC of the commission
08:51during the decision-making process are considered for arriving at the decision,
08:56and after considering all the views placed before the commission,
09:00a decision is taken.
09:01So it's not even a majority decision, it's a unanimous decision.
09:05They've denied that there was any unilateral decision
09:08by the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
09:11Affidavit also approved unanimously by the Chief Election Commissioner
09:15and the two election commissioners.
09:18Form 6 not amended is what the Election Commission has submitted in the Supreme Court.
09:24All the details, Anisha Mathur will have much more on this big story for you.
