Former election commissioner Ashok Lavasa on Friday argued against the immunity granted to ECs from court cases under a 2023 law, observing that accountability was of paramount importance.

Speaking on “Election Commission Credibility and Indian Democracy” at the Indian Women’s Press Corps here, Lavasa said: “As far as the immunity question is concerned, I think this is an extraordinary protection that has been provided. I am not aware of such protection being given to other public institutions and public servants.

“In a democracy, accountability is paramount, and therefore, this kind of legal shield, to my mind, should not be there. If a right decision has been taken, it has to meet the test of it being defended in a court of law.”

His comments came days after the Supreme Court admitted a plea against Article 16 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, which grants civil and criminal immunity to ECs for all acts committed while in office. The provision was aimed at bringing the ECs on a par with Supreme Court judges.

The petitioner NGO, Lok Prahari, argued that this kind of permanent and blanket immunity was unprecedented.

On the SIR, Lavasa said: “Assume that a voter was included in the 1951 electoral roll as he was 21 at the time, and that he remained alive and on the roll until the Bihar revision. But the procedure established in 2025 is that if he does not submit the enumeration form for whatever reason, then his name would be removed. I understand that you can legally justify this, but it is not fair.”

“The same results you can achieve by a simpler process, including removing ineligible voters,” he added.

Association for Democratic Reforms head Maj. Gen. Anil Verma (Retd) and JDU national spokesman K.C. Tyagi were also part of the discussion.

Verma said: “This (SIR) is becoming an exercise of disenfranchisement.... The attitude earlier was to make more voters come out and vote. Here, you got crores of people’s names removed. And then in the court, the EC lawyer says not a single petition (against the SIR) has been filed.”

Tyagi said the CPIML-Liberation filed most of the SIR claims and objections in Bihar. “Please remember that no one came out on the streets and protested during the Bihar polls claiming that their names were wrongly deleted.”