New Delhi, September 23, 2026: The Election Commission of India said Wednesday that its decisions over the past year, including those concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, were unanimous. The statement followed an Indian Express investigation reporting that two members of the three-person commission had repeatedly raised objections to steps taken in its name.

The poll panel said written notes, technical suggestions and differing views are part of its normal deliberations before a final decision is reached. It argued that focusing on selected observations from a ten-month period without considering its wider record of approvals and decisions presented only part of the picture. The commission said it had introduced around 40 initiatives and undertaken electoral reforms during the period.

The Indian Express investigation reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded objections at least 14 times over ten months to decisions and orders they said had been issued without their knowledge. The concerns described in the report involved the SIR, changes to Form 6 for new voter registration, access to electoral-roll data and the handling of decisions about voters’ names. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is the third member of the panel.

The distinction between objections during deliberations and approval of final decisions is at the centre of the dispute. In its response, the Election Commission described the commissioners’ inputs as suggestions intended to improve electoral processes. It said its official orders and directions followed legal procedures and carried full legal sanction.

The commission also said its digital platforms, including ECINet, operate with security controls intended to prevent unauthorised changes. It maintained that electoral registration and district election officers exercise their statutory powers over voter registration and deletion.

The statement did not address every specific example raised in the Indian Express investigation, including who authorised the reported Form 6 change. The newspaper said the commission had not disputed the existence, dates or contents of the objection notes. For now, the EC maintains that its final decisions were unanimous, while questions about how particular actions were approved remain part of the public debate over the SIR.