ECI should give details of decisions taken and whether it had majority support: former election commissioners

Former Election Commissioner SY Quraishi. | Photo credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

Amid controversy over a “reveal” that claimed decisions were taken without the consent of two election commissioners, former election commissioners said the electoral body should immediately publish details of decisions taken and whether they were unanimous or approved by a majority.

According to an investigative report by The Indian Express, two of the three election commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, formally registered objections at least 14 times in ten months, saying crucial decisions were taken on behalf of the entire election commission without their knowledge. They described some of these decisions as “unjustified and illegal”.

According to the law governing the Commission, its work is to be carried out unanimously whenever possible and if the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and the other commissioners disagree, the majority shall prevail. This raises the question whether the decision can be considered valid if Election Commissioners Mr. Sandhu and Mr. Joshi jointly oppose it.

According to former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi, all decisions are illegal unless they are unanimous or supported by a majority.

“Multi-member commissions should be unanimous and have majority opinions. The list of all decisions should now be published, how many were unanimous and how many were majority,” he said.

Former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa, who resigned following disagreements within the Commission in 2020, said the ECI should disclose all details, including the dates when the notes or letters were issued and what action was taken on them.

“If two commissioners say they were not involved in this, then the only way to disprove that is to show the record that they were present at the commission meeting where these decisions were made,” he said.

Another former CEC, OP Rawat, said it would have been better if the two ECs had not waited for 10 months.

“The Election Commission provides complete independence and if you feel something is going on, you can go public immediately,” he said.

Published – 23 Sep 2026 21:56 IST