Key developments in the ECI row: A timeline
Protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar intensified over the last week, with several detained, and complaints of sexual harassment against ACP Vivek Bhagat in Delhi. With the Supreme Court issuing a notice to the ECI and the Centre, here are the developments in the furore against the Election Commission.
On October 5, 2026, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Centre, requesting responses regarding allegations that the poll panel, led by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, made changes to Form 6 without approval from two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
Both Sandhu and Joshi had objected to ECI decisions 14 times in the preceding 10 months, claiming some of those decisions were made without their knowledge. Nationwide protests demanding Kumar's resignation intensified last week following Indian Express reports detailing the two election commissioners' objections.
Protests, particularly in Delhi, led to the detention of several protesters and allegations of police misconduct. AISA members claimed that a male police officer manhandled AISA National President Neha Bora, and another Delhi Police officer abused her. Additionally, three female journalists accused ACP Vivek Bhagat of sexual harassment. The Delhi Police stated that three such complaints have been received and transferred to the Crime Branch for investigation.
INDIA bloc MPs, including Opposition Leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, marched from Parliament House complex to the Election Commission of India on October 6, 2026, but were stopped by police on Parliament Street. They sat in a dharna, demanding Kumar's resignation. The Chief Election Commissioner's office announced a protest on October 10, 2026.
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