In open letter, over 2,000 citizens urge CJI to halt SIR, seek probe into ECI

More than 2,000 citizens, including former Navy chief Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, former Rajya Sabha MP and former Prasar Bharati chairman Jawhar Sircar, economists Jayati Ghosh and several others have written an open letter to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and other Supreme Court judges, seeking an immediate stay on the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls until its legality and procedure are independently reviewed by the court.The signatories have also urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of what they describe as serious irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI), including alleged unauthorised changes to voter registration forms and software, centralisation of electoral data and problems faced by local election officials.The letter seeks an independent, court-monitored investigation into the ECI's functioning during the SIR exercise and a comprehensive audit of the ECINet platform used for managing electoral-roll data. The signatories have also called for restoration of names allegedly removed from electoral rolls because of technical glitches, software restrictions or procedural changes.WHAT THE LETTER ALLEGESThe citizens have alleged that changes were made to the ECINet voter-registration system and Form 6, which is used by new voters to seek enrolment, without the required statutory authorisation or wider consultation. They claimed the changes have created difficulties for young and first-time voters seeking registration. The letter also raises concerns over the increasing centralisation of electoral-roll operations and whether local Electoral Registration Officers have retained the authority to make changes to voter records.The signatories cited the reported case of 97 voters in Goa, claiming that local electoral officials had verified their documents and found them eligible, but were later unable to restore their names because of restrictions or locks in the backend software. These claims form part of the concerns raised in the letter and have not been independently established. The letter also refers to reported internal objections within the three-member Election Commission. Citing official records and a recent investigative report by the Indian Express, the signatories said that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded objections at least 14 times over 10 months over decisions they said were taken without their knowledge or approval.The objections concerned issues including changes to Form 6, voter registration and deletion, access to electoral-roll databases and the functioning of the ECI's technology systems.However, the Election Commission has rejected the suggestion that these objections demonstrate an institutional split. The poll panel said written observations and technical suggestions by individual commissioners are part of its normal functioning and maintained that all decisions, including those relating to SIR, were taken unanimously.CALL FOR ECINET AUDITA major part of the letter's demands concerns ECINet, the Election Commission's technology platform for electoral-roll management.The signatories have sought a comprehensive security and legal audit of the platform by an independent expert committee appointed by the Supreme Court. They want the audit to examine how electoral data is controlled, whether statutory local officials have adequate access to the system and whether anyone outside the authorised structure has had access to voter data.They have also sought an independent investigation into alleged changes to voter-registration software and forms, along with restoration of voters whose names were allegedly affected by technical problems, software locks or procedural changes.The letter further asks the Supreme Court to examine the ECI's administrative and operational conduct during the SIR and to consider appropriate legal action if statutory or constitutional procedures are found to have been violated.WHO SIGNED THE LETTERThe signatories include former Navy chief Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, former Rajya Sabha MP and former Prasar Bharati chairman Jawhar Sircar, economists Jayati Ghosh and Kamal Malhotra, retired JNU professors Aditya Mukherjee and Mridula Mukherjee, social activist Anjali Bhardwaj and scientist Gauhar Raza.Others listed among the signatories include human rights activist Shabnam Hashmi, writer and activist Syeda Hameed, journalist Zia Us Salam, academic and political analyst Yogendra Yadav, educationist Rooprekha Verma, former JNU professor SD Muni and retired civil servant Renuka Viswanathan.The signatories have argued that the integrity of electoral rolls is central to the conduct of elections and have asked the Supreme Court to intervene while questions over the SIR process, voter registration systems and the functioning of the ECI are examined.- Ends