Chennai, Oct 28 DMK President M K Stalin on Wednesday urged President Droupadi Murmu to make a Presidential reference to the Supreme Court under Article 143 of the Constitution to solicit its opinion on the legality of the removal of names of 97.37 lakh voters in Tamil Nadu during the SIR.
In a memorandum to Murmu, Stalin requested her to “urge (the government) to initiate proceedings to remove CEC Gyanesh Kumar from office.”
Both Houses of Parliament should be convened, and the allegations against the CEC should be considered and action initiated on his removal, he said.
The SIR process across all states must be completely cancelled, and electoral roll revisions must be conducted in accordance with relevant laws by providing adequate time frame, individual notices, and an opportunity for a hearing.
An advisory opinion of the Supreme Court should be sought under Article 143 of the Constitution regarding the legality of the deletion of 97,37,832 voters who were left out of Tamil Nadu’s draft electoral rolls during the SIR held in 2025, he urged.
Also, the apex court’s opinion on the validity of the final list published on February 23, 2026, and its impact on the 2026 Assembly election results should be sought.
An advisory opinion should also be sought on whether decisions taken in the name of the commission without the approval of the majority of its members are valid under Section 18 of The Chief Election Commissioner And Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023.
According to Section 18, all business of the EC shall, as far as possible, be transacted unanimously and if the CEC and other Election Commissioners differ in opinion on any matter, such matter shall be decided according to the opinion of the majority.
Under Article 78 of the Constitution, information should be obtained from the Prime Minister to ensure that until these Parliamentary proceedings are concluded, the CEC does not individually exercise the powers of the Commission.
It must also be ensured that every decision of the Election Commission is taken as a joint decision in accordance with law and the minutes of the meeting should be duly recorded.
The Election Commission should be advised not to use the SIR-based electoral roll utilised for the 2026 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu for future elections and bypolls, and the pre-SIR electoral roll should be restored legally.
A forensic audit should be conducted by independent experts on the technical architecture of ECINET and ERONET, and changes made to the electoral rolls.
To restore public trust in the electoral process, the paper ballot system should be reintroduced in place of EVMs and until then, in elections where EVMs are used, 100 per cent of the VVPAT paper slips must be counted and verified against the votes cast.
The President should take all other necessary measures within her constitutional powers to safeguard the voting rights of every Indian citizen.
(PTI News)
