India’s Supreme Court to hear pleas seeking suspension of chief election commissioner

India’s Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a group of pleas seeking the suspension of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and challenging decisions allegedly taken without the agreement of the other two election commissioners. The Hindu reported that a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana will hear petitions filed by Rakesh Kumar Singh and lawyer Shailendra Mani Tripathi. The petitions also challenge guidelines and software changes allegedly introduced by Kumar without the concurrence of his colleagues.

The source material does not state whether the court has issued any interim orders. The hearing follows protests in New Delhi and Mumbai seeking Kumar’s removal and the suspension of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls, known as SIR. Demonstrations continued for a third day on Sunday.

In New Delhi, protesters attempting to reach Jantar Mantar were stopped on Ashoka Road by heavily deployed police. Nearly 500 people were detained, according to The Hindu. The protests involved Aam Aadmi Party workers and other demonstrators.

The source material says protesters were also demanding that SIR be scrapped and that ballot papers be used instead of electronic voting machines. The legal challenge centres on the authority of the chief election commissioner to make the disputed decisions without approval from the other election commissioners. The court’s hearing is expected to address the pleas seeking suspension and the broader challenges to the poll panel’s actions.