The Supreme Court on Monday refused to pass an interim order suspending Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. It sought the Election Commission’s response to allegations that key decisions were taken without consensus.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, issued notices to the Centre, the ECI, the CEC and the two Election Commissioners. They must file replies within a week.

The plea alleged that 14 crucial decisions linked to the Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls were taken by the CEC alone. This followed an Indian Express report that the decisions ignored objections recorded by the two Election Commissioners.

Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, for petitioner Rakesh Kumar Singh, argued that interim protection was needed because citizens felt unsafe about voting rights. He cited Section 18 of the CEC Act, which requires poll body decisions to be unanimous or by majority.

The court said it would reconsider or recall any decision shown to have been taken without the required unanimity.