SC questions sweeping immunity for Election Commissioners

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has questioned the sweeping legal immunity available to the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners even after they leave office, amid a challenge to CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s functioning during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), according to a report by The Hindu.

Justice Joymalya Bagchi, on a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, raised the issue while hearing petitions alleging the Election Commission's unilateral decision-making and procedural overreach. Section 16 of the 2023 law bars courts from entertaining or continuing civil or criminal proceedings against a person who is or was a CEC or Election Commissioner for acts connected with official functions. The observation highlighted its breadth compared with safeguards available to judges.

“A protection when in office is always understood. But the ‘was’ in the provision is perhaps only protection with regard to the President. It does not apply even to judges... Look at the Judges Inquiry Act,” The Hindu quoted the court.

Senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for petitioner Rakesh Kumar Singh, argued that the law had placed the CEC in an excessively powerful position. He maintained that the CEC is only the chairperson of a multi-member Commission and cannot exercise powers belonging to the ECI as a whole. He sought interim action against Kumar pending the court’s final decision.

The hearing also exposed a separate controversy over changes to Form 6, used for registering new voters. CJI Surya Kant clarified that the Supreme Court had not approved the modified form being used during SIR and said the court would examine ECI records to establish who authorised the changes.

The altered form required applicants to establish whether they, their parents or grandparents appeared on earlier SIR electoral rolls, making the linkage a prerequisite for submission. The court’s intervention has intensified scrutiny of both the ECI’s decision-making and the legal protection enjoyed by its top officials.