New Delhi [India], October 27 : Following the ECI's affidavit on the SIR of electoral rolls in the Supreme Court, Former Union Law Minister Ashwini Kumar on Tuesday said the Supreme Court would have to examine whether the affidavit was sufficient to establish that its decisions were taken unanimously.
Speaking to ANI, Kumar said, “Yes, this affidavit has been filed, and the Supreme Court will now have to determine what the effect of that affidavit is. The core point of the agitation and the doubts in the people's minds is that the decisions were taken unilaterally by the Chief Election Commissioner. With this affidavit, the court will have to go into whether the contents of the affidavit are sufficient to establish that the decisions were taken unanimously.”
Kumar said the court would also need to examine whether the initial objections raised by the two Election Commissioners were withdrawn or waived, even if the final decisions were unanimous.
“However, there is still the larger question of whether, even if the decisions were eventually taken unanimously, the initial objections of the two election commissioners stood waived or withdrawn. That is something that the court will have to go into, and that is something which the opposition parties and the petitioners in the court will need to argue. So, let us see what the court says," he added.
On the issue of Form 6, Kumar said the court would have to determine whether seeking an additional declaration along with the form amounted to an amendment.
“Similarly, as far as Form 6 is concerned, the Election Commission in its affidavit is reported to have said that it was not amended. But it is equally true that additional information, by way of another declaration, was sought along with Form 6. Whether that requirement constitutes an amendment or not is also a matter which the Supreme Court will have to go into. So, I think we will need to await the decision of the Supreme Court before we comment on it," he added.
Former Joint Director of the ECI Mohammad Amin, meanwhile, said the affidavit reaffirmed that the Commission functioned impartially and took decisions collectively.
Speaking to ANI, Amin said, "The Election Commission filed its affidavit today at the last date for submission, ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on October 27. The affidavit bears the signatures of all three Election Commissioners, reaffirming that the Commission functions impartially and takes decisions collectively."
Amin said differences could arise during internal discussions but maintained that the Commission's final decisions were taken jointly.
“While differences may arise during internal discussions, the final decisions are taken jointly. The Commission also clarified that the SIR decision was unanimous and that the matter concerning the letter to the Cabinet Secretary was an internal issue that has now been resolved,” he said.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court, stating that all three Special Intensive Revision (SIR) orders issued across 2025 and 2026 were "unanimous decisions" passed with the collective consensus of the full Commission.
In a counter-affidavit filed before the apex court in response to petitions challenging the administrative functioning and decision-making of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), the poll monitoring body asserted that the directives were not unilateral.
The Commission specifically submitted that the three SIR orders—issued in June 2025, October 2025, and May 2026—were arrived at through unanimous concurrence among all members of the constitutional body.
It further told the Supreme Court that Form 6 has not been amended. “There is no change in Form 6 vide the 3 SIR Orders, as sought to be alleged,” the ECI said in the affidavit.
The Commission's submission comes amid the ongoing agitation against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls that seeks the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the exercise.