“Illegality and unconstitutionality are writ large on the [SIR] judgment,” says former Supreme Court judge Justice V Gopala Gowda. He wants the Court to recall its May 2026 ruling on its own motion, alleging that the Election Commission did not tell it that two Election Commissioners had objected to SIR decisions. These are his views and allegations; no filing has been reported, and the Election Commission has not been reported as responding to him directly.
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Bengaluru: Former Supreme Court judge Justice V Gopala Gowda has called on the Supreme Court to recall, suo motu, its May 2026 judgment upholding the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) power to conduct the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, saying the Commission misled the Court by misrepresenting facts. He made the remarks in an interview to LiveLaw and at a protest at Freedom Park, Bengaluru, organised by the CJP (Cockroach Janta Party).
The report does not mention any application or petition filed by Justice Gowda, a case number, a Bench, a listing date or any court order. The views below are his own.
The relief he wants
Justice Gowda urged the Supreme Court to recall the May 2026 judgment on its own motion, and to call for all ECI records to check whether the SIR decision had the approval of the Full Commission, with the concurrence of a majority of the Election Commissioners.
The alleged non-disclosure
Justice Gowda relied on a report in The Indian Express that two Election Commissioners had objected to various SIR decisions, and that the Chief Election Commissioner had taken them unilaterally in the ECI’s name. He said this was not disclosed to the Supreme Court, and argued that deliberate suppression of such facts amounts to playing fraud on the Court, which vitiates the basis of the judgment. He also read the ECI’s September 26 press release as effectively admitting the newspaper’s report. That is his reading of the release; the ECI has not been reported as responding to it.
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The Form 6 point
Justice Gowda also said the ECI had projected that the modified Form 6 had been approved by the Supreme Court, whereas the Chief Justice of India had recently said that the Court had not upheld any modification of the form.
On the SIR judgment and Justice Bhuyan
At the Freedom Park protest, he called the SIR judgment “unconstitutional, illegal and undemocratic”. He also said he saw no judicial impropriety in Justice Ujjal Bhuyan’s remarks on mass voter deletions, asking what the impropriety was in speaking about constitutional rights to law students. He criticised the comments made by former CJI B R Gavai on Justice Bhuyan.
Where matters stand
The May 2026 judgment stands, and no recall application or suo motu proceeding has been reported. The Election Commission’s response to Justice Gowda’s contentions has not been reported either. LawChakra expresses no view on the correctness of the SIR judgment or of the allegations made; the contentions are reported as stated.
Case Details: Remarks of Justice V Gopala Gowda (former Supreme Court judge) on the Supreme Court’s May 2026 judgment upholding the ECI’s power to conduct the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls | Occasion: Interview to LiveLaw and protest at Freedom Park, Bengaluru, October 8, 2026 | Relief urged: suo motu recall of the judgment and a call for ECI records on Full Commission approval | Status: No filing, hearing or order reported; the allegations are the speaker’s own and untested.