EC Clarifies Sandhu, Joshi Letters To Cabinet Secretary Were About Officer’s Functioning, Not Policy

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday clarified that letters sent by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi to Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan were not related to any policy matter concerning the Commission or its IT division. The poll panel said the correspondence concerned the functioning of an officer on deputation to the ECI.

The clarification came after the full Election Commission met on Saturday amid reports of differences between Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the two Election Commissioners. The meeting also discussed the functioning of ECINet, the Commission’s unified technology platform for electoral services.

In a press note issued after the meeting, the ECI said the work redistribution orders issued by the concerned officer were not implemented following the directions of the two Election Commissioners. It also said oversight of the IT division by the Deputy Election Commissioner was never actually withdrawn.

What Is The ECINet Row About?

The controversy centres on ECINet, which the ECI launched on January 22 as a unified technology platform bringing more than 40 applications and portals under one system. At its launch, CEC Gyanesh Kumar said the platform had been developed in accordance with the law, while Director General (IT) Seema Khanna said it was intended to enhance transparency, credibility and public trust.

A report by The Indian Express, based on internal documents and interviews, said Sandhu and Joshi had raised concerns over changes in work allocation and the degree of access available to officials responsible for maintaining electoral rolls.

According to the report, Joshi had flagged what he described as the “gradual centralisation of the electoral roll database” and questioned whether changes to ECINet were restricting the statutory powers of officials responsible for preparing and finalising voter lists.

The two commissioners had reportedly raised their concerns on multiple occasions and copied some of their notes to CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Joshi also proposed an audit involving an outside IIT expert to verify that only designated statutory authorities had credentials to make changes to the voter database. Sandhu separately raised concerns over access control and sought full access for statutory authorities.

What The Election Commission Said

Addressing the concerns at Saturday’s meeting, the ECI said field officers have role-based access to ECINet according to their statutory powers.

The Commission also decided that a committee headed by a Senior Deputy Election Commissioner and including an independent expert from an IIT or IIIT would review ECINet to verify its compliance with relevant laws and rules and submit a report to the Commission.

The ECI said several upgrades had already been made to the platform based on inputs received from State Chief Electoral Officers. It added that any further flexibility required by field officers would be incorporated.

The Commission further decided that new initiatives involving IT modules and portals would be discussed in the Committee of Officers before being placed for approval before the Commission.

ECI Says Statutory Powers Remain With Field Officials

The Election Commission has maintained that ECINet is a decentralised platform and that statutory functions relating to electoral rolls continue to rest with designated officials in the field.

According to the Commission, Booth Level Officers (BLOs), Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), District Election Officers (DEOs) and Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) carry out their respective functions through individual IDs and passwords.

An ECI official said no other officer, including another officer of the Commission, can perform these statutory functions on ECINet.

What Happens Next?

The Commission’s decision to conduct an independent expert review of ECINet is now likely to provide a formal assessment of the platform’s compliance with the relevant laws and rules.

The latest clarification comes against the backdrop of wider reports about differences within the three-member poll panel. The ECI has sought to emphasise that decisions relating to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and other electoral processes were taken by the full Commission.