Tangmarg, October 6: Jammu and Kashmir National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah has welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to issue notices to the Election Commission of India and other respondents over petitions challenging decisions allegedly taken unilaterally by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in connection with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Reacting to the development, Abdullah said he was pleased that the Supreme Court had taken cognisance of the matter. He expressed hope that the court would examine the allegations and take note of any mistakes found in the process.
“I am really happy that the Supreme Court has taken notice of this. We hope that it will look into this and take note of the mistakes he has made,” Abdullah said.
The remarks came after a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and M. V. Mohana, declined to pass an ex-parte interim order seeking the suspension of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
The Supreme Court issued notices to the Centre, Election Commission, Gyanesh Kumar, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, besides other concerned officials.
The court said it wanted to first examine “authenticated information” regarding the allegations and observed that any decision found to be contrary to the statutory framework could be annulled.
On the controversy surrounding Form 6, CJI Surya Kant clarified that the court had not approved any modified version of the form and said the record would be examined to determine who made the changes.
The petitions before the Supreme Court allege that 14 key decisions related to the SIR exercise were taken in the name of the Election Commission despite objections reportedly recorded by the other two Election Commissioners.
The case also involves allegations regarding changes to electoral-roll systems, Form 6, access to ERONet/ECINet, and appeals before the West Bengal Appellate Tribunals.
Meanwhile, responding to questions about West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s announcement regarding the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and proposed legislation against what he described as “love jihad”, Abdullah said the government could take several measures but added that the future remained uncertain.
The Supreme Court is expected to examine the allegations after receiving authenticated records and responses from the Election Commission and other concerned authorities.
