{
  "id": 10100003,
  "title": "‘SIR decisions unanimous’: EC backs decision-making process",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/27/sir-decisions-unanimous-ec-backs-decision-making-process",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-27T00:17:47.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Times of India",
    "slug": "times-of-india",
    "url": "https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/all-sir-rollout-decisions-unanimous-ec-says-meeting-agendas-for-all-meetings-to-be-circulated-in-advance/articleshow/134513112.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Election Commission (EC) of India has confirmed that chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and his two commissioners, S S Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, unanimously agreed on the decisions regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. This clarification comes after a report in The Indian Express suggested that CEC disregarded the views of the two ECs on SIR-related decisions, leading to a political row. The opposition targeted the government and CEC over this issue.\n\nOn June 24, 2025, the EC issued orders for SIR for all states and union territories, beginning with Bihar, followed by West Bengal and 30 other states/UTs. The EC stated that the decision was made unanimously by the three commissioners. The body also denied claims that Sandhu and Joshi wrote letters to the Cabinet Secretary to raise concerns about policy matters or IT processes. The letter was related to the work of an officer on deputation to the EC, whose work re-distribution orders were not implemented as initially proposed.\n\nThe EC further refuted allegations that Sandhu and Joshi had written separate letters to the Cabinet Secretary to flag concerns about policy matters or the processes adopted by the EC's IT division, which they no longer controlled. The letter was connected to the work of an officer on deputation to the EC, and the re-distribution orders issued by the officer were not actually implemented. The oversight over the IT division by the Deputy Election Commissioner (DEC) was never withdrawn.\n\nThe EC clarified that the commissioners' objections were related to alleged violations of the law governing the EC and linked them to field officers allegedly being locked out of ECINET, a centralized software controlled by the EC. The allegations were seized upon by the opposition, who demanded the imprisonment of CEC or sought his removal again.\n\nFollowing a full commission meeting and a statement issued later on Saturday, the EC addressed these issues point by point, assuring that the three commissioners had resolved their internal differences. The EC decided to concede on several matters raised by the commissioners through internal notes, including making the agenda for all meetings available beforehand and issuing minutes after each meeting. The EC also agreed to complete annual performance appraisal reports of all officers by December 31 every year. The statement further reassured that all directions issued by the commissioners to the EC's officers would be complied with, and foreign trips for officers would be approved by the full commission.",
  "summary": "Agenda in advance, P 15",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}