New Delhi, Sept. 26 -- Amid stir and calls for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation, the full Election Commission met here on Saturday and took some key decisions, including extension of Delhi Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and doing away with mandatory ERO hearing.

Election Commissioners SS Sandhu and Vivek Joshi along with the CEC Kumar met at Nirvachan Sadan, the EC headquarters, as questions have loomed large in the background over the functioning of the poll panel and the SIR in the aftermath of an investigative report in The Indian Express which brought out dissent within and objections raised by the two Commissioners.

After the meeting, the Commission issued a detailed press note outlining a series of decisions on the SIR process, ECINet, Form 6, claims and objections, as well as recent questions surrounding an internal communication to the Cabinet Secretary.

The EC release clarified its position on a letter written to the Cabinet Secretary, reportedly by Sandhu and Joshi as claimed by the The Indian Express of September 23. The controversy referred to objections raised by Joshi and Sandhu on issues such as changes to Form 6 used for new voter enrolment, the functioning of the online system ECINET, the redistribution of work in the IT division, appeals in the West Bengal SIR, and the handling of cases involving voters in Goa, for instance. In an immediate response earlier, the EC had argued that internal disagreements were part of its democratic functioning.

On the Form 6 issue, questions were raised over a declaration attached to the form during the SIR process, asking prospective voters to map to the previous SIR via their parents' names. The commission's note said the declaration was upheld by the Supreme Court. It added that outside the SIR period, forms prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, would be used.

On ECINET, concerns were raised over access to the electoral-roll database and the functioning of the portal. The commission announced a review of the ECINET by a committee headed by a Senior Deputy Election Commissioner and including an independent expert from an IIT or IIIT.

The commission said any further flexibility required by field officers would be made operational too. It also decided that all new initiatives involving IT modules and portals would be discussed by the committee of officers before being placed before the commission for approval.

The commission said the letter to the Cabinet Secretary was not related to any policy matter of the EC or its IT division, but to the functioning of the officer. It said the work redistribution orders objected to were not implemented after directions from the two commissioners, and that oversight of the IT division by a Deputy Election Commissioner was never withdrawn.

On the SIR, it said the June 24, 2025, order launching the exercise across states and Union Territories was issued with the unanimous approval of the commission. The press note said subsequent schedules were also issued with unanimous approval. It noted that the Supreme Court had upheld the original SIR order.

The commission pointedly addressed the case of 97 voters in Goa who had been left out of the electoral rolls. It said the Goa Chief Electoral Officer had directed Booth Level Officers to conduct house-to-house visits and collect their forms. Of the 97 voters, 81 had already filled Form 6 for inclusion.

The commission also announced measures aimed at strengthening its internal functioning. Agendas for all commission meetings will now be circulated in advance and minutes will be issued. It said directions issued by commissioners to officials would be meticulously complied with.

The deadline for filing claims and objections in Delhi under the SIR process was also extended to October 30, with the disposal target extended to November 30. In Maharashtra, the corresponding deadlines were extended to October 12 and November 10. The EC also announced a slew of decisions for the ease of voters who have been issued notices, including doorstep collection of documents and extending deadlines in Delhi and Maharashtra.

The EC statement said all directions issued by the Commissioners to the officers of the Commission shall be meticulously complied with.

It is the second EC statement after The Indian Express report sparked an uproar with the opposition demanding CEC Kumar's sacking and the scrapping of SIR.

Three BJP allies -- LJP (Ram Vilas), TDP and RLM -- have also sought a clearer explanation from the EC.

The EC said that in recent months, it has taken numerous decisions, including SIR across the country. The order for the SIR issued on June 24, 2025, for all states/UTs, starting with Bihar, followed by West Bengal and 30 other states/UTs, was issued with the unanimous approval of the Commission.

The same has been upheld by the Supreme Court of India in its order dated May 27, 2026, it said.

The schedule for SIR for 12 states and UTs was issued on October 27, 2025, and those for 19 states/ UTs was issued on May 14, 2026, with the unanimous approval of the EC.

The final figure for the number of electors will be known only after final publication in the remaining 12 states of Phase-III.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.