India news: Top court hears petitions against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar

The hearing comes after thousands of protesters and opposition supporters rallied in Delhi and Mumbai over the weekend to demand Kumar's resignationImage: Abiraj Kumar Arulgnanakumar/DWAdvertisementSkip next section What you need to knowWhat you need to know India's Supreme Court heard petitions against the functioning of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid voter list controversy The top court has issued notice to the Election Commision of India and sought the body's response to the allegations against Kumar Meanwhile, protests are seeking Kumar's resignation  Here are the latest developments from India on Monday, October 5.

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The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Election Commission of India (ECI), seeking the poll body's response to petitions against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls.

The pleas sought action against Kumar following an investigative news report which claimed that the poll panel, headed by him, took decisions on voter list changes despite objections from two of three election commissioners.

India’s top court said on Monday that after considering ECI’s response, if it finds that decisions were taken by the top poll official without the required unanimity, it would reconsider or recall those decisions, news agency ANI reported.

"If records show some decision was not unanimous etc., we will injunct those decisions," legal news portal LiveLaw quoted the court as saying.

The Supreme Court declined to pass any interim order to suspend Kumar, an action sought by one of the petitions.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held bilateral talks with visiting Swiss President Guy Parmelin at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi. 

India and Switzerland exchanged a number of Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs)  after their leaders reviewed progress in a range of areas of bilateral cooperation, including trade, investment, technology and culture. 

The two nations countries took "several important decisions to increase market access for India's exports in Switzerland, and to make investment between the two countries smoother", Modi said at a joint press conference with Parmelin after the talks.

"This will increase the export of India's agriculture, pharma, textile, and engineering goods to Switzerland. At the same time, we will attract new Swiss investment in India's important sectors such as biotech, life sciences, banking, insurance, food processing, and sustainability," the Indian leader added. 

India and Switzerland also signed a mobility agreement on Monday which Modi said would lead to more opportunities for Indian students and professionals in Switzerland.  

Parmelin described his visit to India as a "stepping stone towards further growth".

"It is the right moment to celebrate how far we have come together but, even more importantly, to shape our joint future," he told the media.

Parmelin last visited India in February 2026 to participate in the AI Impact Summit but his latest trip marks his first state visit to the country. 

The Swiss President is accompanied by a high-level delegation of senior officials and business leaders. 

Parmelin kicked off his visit earlier on Monday by placing a wreath at Mahatma Gandhi's memorial, Raj Ghat.

India's Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar also met with the Swiss leader. 

Jaishankar wrote on X that he was "confident" that Modi and Parmelin's meeting would "further the engagement" between the two nations across " a wide range of domains."

In a statement earlier this week, India's Foreign Ministry emphasized the significance of Parmelin's visit and his participation in the 2nd India–European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Prosperity Summit, which will be held on October 7 to mark the inaugural anniversary of the landmark India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) coming into force.

"Among EFTA countries, Switzerland is the largest trade and investment partner of India," the foreign ministry in New Delhi said.

India and the United States have reached a "plateau" in their trade deal negotiations where further concessions from either side could be difficult, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at the Munich Leaders Meeting being held in New Delhi ‌on ⁠Monday.

Sitharaman described the agreement as a "hard and very rigorously negotiated" one.

The minister said that negotiations were still ongoing. 

"Although we like to believe that both sides have reached a plateau, beyond which giving or taking might be very, very difficult, But Maybe if there are rooms to operate from, both sides would do it," she said.

India and the US first announced negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement in February 2025 but the deal remains in a limbo. 

Multiple rounds of talks have been held between representatives from New Delhi and Washington but there has been no significant breakthrough as differences persist over issues including tariffs and market access.

Last week, US ‌Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said last week‌ that an ​agreement was not "imminent".

“We truly have identified the universe ​of items that ​are ⁠sticking points. We're working diligently toward them," he said. 

On Monday, Sitharaman ‌said the trade balance between the two nations was in India's "favor".

"They would want to reduce that imbalance," she said, referring to the US. 

The Munich Leaders Meeting in the Indian capital is being hosted by the Munich Security Conference and organized with the support of India's foreign ministry.

The Supreme Court on Monday is scheduled to hear a batch of pleas seeking the suspension of Election Commission of India chief Gyanesh Kumar over decisions related to the country's controversial voter roll revisions, allegedly taken unilaterally, India media reported. 

Kumar has been under intense public scrutiny after the Indian Express daily reported that two of his fellow election commissioners raised at least 14 formal objections over 10 months regarding voter registrations, deletions and restorations, as well as control of electoral roll data, but those concerns were not taken into consideration. 

Kumar heads the three-member commission, which has overseen the voter roll revisions.

The Election Commission of India rejects allegations of wrongdoing and says the process removes deceased, relocated and duplicate voters and also prevents the inclusion of "foreign illegal immigrants."

Opposition parties and critics allege that the changes to voter lists benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a charge the party denies.

Kumar is yet to make a comment on the allegations against him.

On Monday,  a three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, is expected to hear petitions over the decisions taken by Kumar allegedly without the approval of the two election commissioners. 

One of the petitions is seeking a declaration that the chief election commissioner cannot take decisions for the ECI without the concurrence of the other two Election Commissioners, legal news website LiveLaw reported.

The other seeks a revocation of the 14 reported decisions allegedly taken unilaterally, along with the constitution of an independent judicial inquiry commission or  a special investigation team headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court to probe the allegations against Kumar. 

The hearing comes after thousands of protesters and opposition supporters rallied in Delhi and Mumbai over the weekend to demand Kumar's resignation.

This is Dharvi Vaid Dhulia from DW’s studio in New Delhi and this is the Monday edition of our India blog. Here we breakdown all the biggest headlines that are making a splash in the world’s most populous country. 

Protests demanding the resignation of India’s poll body chief Gyanesh Kumar over alleged wrongdoing during sweeping changes to voter rolls have gripped the nation. 

Large-scale demonstrations, helmed by opposition activists and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement, were held over the weekend in the national capital of New Delhi and India’s financial hub of Mumbai. 

The CJP, which has been riding a wave of public success after its debut campaign in July led to the resignation of the then education minister, now has Kumar in its crosshairs. 

The Gen-Z led pressure group has announced a protest march to New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on October 10.

Meanwhile, legal pressure also surrounds Kumar with India's top court slated to hear petitions against the chief election commissioner today.