Supreme Court refuses CEC suspension plea; former and sitting judges accused of attempting to influence bench
On October 5, 2026, the Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V Mohana refused to pass an ex parte order suspending Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The bench declined to issue an interim order without hearing from the CEC and other respondents, despite the petitioner's warning that failure to do so would cause national turmoil.
Ahead of this hearing, former Supreme Court judge Rohinton Nariman and sitting judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan reportedly made statements at non-judicial forums that appeared aimed at influencing the court's decision. On October 4, Justice Bhuyan delivered remarks at a moot court competition in Hyderabad, describing any process that denies voting rights as "intrinsically arbitrary" and a violation of constitutional equality guarantees.
The source questions whether these judicial interventions—through their timing and ideological positioning—constituted an attempt to shape the bench's ruling on matters related to electoral rolls and the CEC.
