Gyanesh Kumar faces INDIA bloc impeachment show today

INDIA bloc holds its symbolic ‘public impeachment’ of CEC Gyanesh Kumar in Delhi today after rain pushed it from Friday, amid the big SIR voter-list row.

Updated: October 31, 2026, 10:30 IST

Quick Read

The INDIA bloc will hold its symbolic “public impeachment” of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in Delhi today, October 31, after rain forced it off Friday.
The event is a political protest, not a legal trial. Its vote cannot remove the Chief Election Commissioner from office.
The protest is tied to the SIR voter-list check and to a Supreme Court hearing on October 30 about Form 7 deletion forms in Uttar Pradesh.

What happens today

The programme is set for the afternoon at 10, Rajaji Marg, the Delhi home of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. The Hindu reported the event was pushed from Friday to Saturday, October 31, because of rain in the national capital.

Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said the choice was made by agreement. He said it would be hard for senior leaders to sit in the rain, so the same programme would be held a day later. The Week quoted him saying the group would do “the exact same programme tomorrow.”

Reports say former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar will chair the proceedings. PTI, as cited by The Week, reported that Kharge would move the symbolic motion and Gandhi would give the closing speech before a symbolic vote. One representative from each INDIA bloc party is expected to take part, according to ABP Live, citing sources.

The bloc plans to use today’s event as a build-up to a bigger rally. On Sunday, November 1, it plans a “Chalo Dilli” march from the Minto Road–Connaught Place junction in central Delhi to Ramlila Maidan, The Hindu reported. Gandhi has asked political parties, civil-society groups, journalists and ordinary citizens to join that march.

A protest, not a court trial

Readers should not mix up the two ideas. The word “impeachment” sounds like a legal case. Today’s event is not one.

UNI India stated it plainly: the proposed public impeachment “is not a constitutional or legal proceeding and cannot result in the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner.” ABP Live said the same thing, calling it a symbolic political protest.

So today’s vote, whatever its result, does not change Gyanesh Kumar’s job. A real removal of a Chief Election Commissioner is a Parliament process, not a rally vote. Today’s event is a way for opposition parties to show public anger and to press their demand that he resign.

That demand is the heart of the story. The INDIA bloc says the Election Commission, under Kumar, has hurt the fairness of elections. It points to the SIR voter-list check and to claims that voter names were wrongly cut. The Election Commission has not accepted those claims as proven, and its side in the court case below says the suspect forms were checked and not acted on.

What is SIR, in plain words

SIR stands for Special Intensive Revision. Think of it as a deep clean of the voter list.

In a normal year, the list gets small updates. New voters aged 18 join, and small errors get fixed. SIR is much bigger. Election staff go door to door, check each entry, and try to build a fresh, clean list. They aim to cut names of people who have died or moved away, fix duplicates, and add people who were left out.

The Election Commission says this clean-up protects the “one person, one vote” rule. If dead or duplicate names stay on the list, the vote count can be doubted. The opposition says the same clean-up, done fast and with strict document checks, can cut out real voters by mistake.

That clash is why SIR has turned into a national fight. It is not just a paper exercise. It decides who gets to vote.

What the Supreme Court said on October 30

A day before today’s event, the Supreme Court stepped into one part of the row. On Friday, October 30, a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, heard pleas against the SIR exercise in Uttar Pradesh.

The petitioners, including Congress MP Tanuj Punia, said 32 Form 7 forms were filed in one Uttar Pradesh constituency and aimed at members of one community. Form 7 is the form used to ask that a name be cut from the voter list. In plain words, it is an objection form: “this person should not be on the list.”

The Election Commission’s lawyer, senior advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, told the court that bulk Form 7 forms had indeed come in, but officers checked them, found them false, and did not act on them. Outlook India reported that line from the hearing.

The court did not settle the facts on the spot. It asked the petitioners to hand the Election Commission a note listing the problems they say are still open. Then, Deccan Herald reported, the court ordered the poll body to “examine the factual aspects, carry out necessary corrections and file a compliance report.” A compliance report is a written reply to the court saying what was checked and fixed.

The court also refused to extend the SIR check deadline in Kerala, where the process is complete. The Chief Justice said people left out by mistake can still approach the Commission with their papers, Deccan Herald reported. For Chhattisgarh, where the Commission had not yet filed a full reply, the court gave it four weeks.

None of this decides the SIR fight for good. It keeps the case open and puts the next step on the Election Commission: check, correct, and report back.

What to watch next

Three dates now frame this story. Today, October 31, is the symbolic impeachment event in Delhi. Tomorrow, November 1, is the Ramlila Maidan rally and march. After that, the Election Commission’s compliance report to the Supreme Court will show whether the Form 7 complaints in Uttar Pradesh led to any real corrections.

For voters, the practical question is simple. If your name is on the list, check it before the next election in your state. If it is missing, the Commission’s own process, and the court’s words on October 30, say you can still raise it with the poll body.

FAQ

Q1: Is Gyanesh Kumar being removed from office today? No. Today’s event is a symbolic protest by opposition parties. It is not a legal or Parliament process, and its vote cannot remove the Chief Election Commissioner.

Q2: What is SIR in one line? SIR is a deep, door-to-door check of the voter list. It aims to cut dead, shifted and duplicate names and add eligible voters who were left out.

Q3: What is Form 7? Form 7 is the form used to object to a name on the voter list. It asks the election officer to cut that name. The October 30 court case was about bulk Form 7 forms filed in Uttar Pradesh.