Former Home Secretary R.K. Singh Blames CEC Gyanesh Kumar for Illegal Nationwide Voter Roll Revision

Former Union Home Secretary R.K. Singh has accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of breaking the law in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Singh said the nationwide intensive revision violates Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which permits special revisions only in specific cases and for a single constituency or part thereof. He also called the Supreme Court’s order upholding the general SIR wrong and asked whether the decision was taken by the whole commission or by Kumar alone. The Election Commission, headed by Kumar with Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, has been in internal conflict, with the two commissioners reportedly questioning Kumar’s handling of the voter database and new enrolment rules at least 14 times in the past ten months. Singh highlighted that Section 22 allows only the Electoral Registration Officer to delete a name after an enquiry, hearing and disposal of appeals, yet Kumar allegedly removed names of all voters listed by EROs after 2003 without any basis. The removed voters were forced to re‑apply using Form 6, which Kumar altered by adding an unauthorised appendix asking for parents’ serial numbers from the 2003 roll—information an 18‑year‑old cannot access in 2026. Singh cited 16 lakh valid voters in West Bengal left out because appeals were filed without the commissioners’ approval, and that 90 % of those appealed were later found valid. He said the deletions total about 13 crore names, roughly 13 % of the electorate, and could swing the narrow 3 % NDA‑INDIA gap in 2024. He urged all opposition parties to boycott elections until the CEC and the two commissioners resign and successors are chosen by a committee of the prime minister, the leader of opposition and a sitting Supreme Court judge. He also demanded that elections held while appeals are pending be set aside and that voting return to paper ballots. ## Context The SIR is meant to clean voter lists, but Indian law restricts such revisions to limited areas and requires thorough enquiry. Using a nationwide roll without completing appeals can disenfranchise large groups, especially the poor, and raise doubts about electoral fairness.