The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear next week a petition questioning the decision-making process of the Election Commission of India (ECI) under Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The matter was mentioned before a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana.

Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, who mentioned the petition, told the Bench that under the statutory framework governing the multi-member Election Commission, decisions have to be taken either unanimously or by majority.

Singh raised questions over whether decisions taken by the poll panel in recent months were unanimous.

The petition comes amid a report by The Indian Express claiming that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections at least 14 times over a 10-month period against decisions and orders related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

According to the report, the two Election Commissioners had objected to certain decisions which they said were issued without their knowledge or recommendation.

The Election Commission, however, has maintained that its decisions, including those concerning the SIR exercise, were taken unanimously with the approval of all three Commissioners. The poll panel has also said that differences during internal deliberations are part of the functioning of a multi-member constitutional body.

The ECI had further clarified that communications sent by Sandhu and Joshi to the Cabinet Secretary related to an officer on deputation and did not concern policy or IT division matters.

The Supreme Court is now set to consider the petition next week, with the proceedings likely to examine the statutory framework governing collective decision-making within the Election Commission.