New Delhi: The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) has issued a show-cause notice to the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), an autonomous institute funded by it, accusing it of “deliberately scandalizing and maligning” the reputation and image of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
ThePrint has accessed a copy of the show-cause notice in which ICSSR, operating under the aegis of the Ministry of Education, has accused CSDS of serious administrative and financial irregularities, along with data manipulation.
It sought an explanation from CSDS for “biased studies” revolving around ECI’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and the Maharashtra Assembly elections, warning that failure to adequately address these issues may result in the withdrawal of ICSSR funding.
ICSSR primarily funds CSDS through its Grant-in-Aid scheme, which supports registered research institutions, associations, and trusts in carrying out social science research. This funding covers core expenses like office operations, libraries, and research activities.
The notice came amid the ‘vote chori (theft)’ campaign, launched by Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and ECI of manipulating voter rolls to influence election outcomes.
The campaign gained momentum after Sanjay Kumar, co-director of Lokniti–CSDS, posted on X (formerly Twitter) on 17 August that voter numbers in certain Maharashtra constituencies changed significantly between the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. However, on 19 August, he deleted the post and issued a public apology, attributing the claims to a data misreading by his team and describing the error as inadvertent.
I sincerely apologize for the tweets posted regarding Maharashtra elections.
Error occurred while comparing data of 2024 LS and 2024 AS. The data in row was misread by our Data team.
The tweet has since been removed.
I had no intention of dispersing any form of misinformation.
— Sanjay Kumar (@sanjaycsds) August 19, 2025
However, ICSSR responded strongly, issuing a show-cause notice to CSDS, alleging that the latter had also been involved in “irregularities” in the past. It stated that similar concerns had been raised earlier through multiple complaints received via different channels.
At the same time, two FIRs were filed Wednesday against Kumar in Nagpur and Nashik, based on complaints from local tehsildars.
Incidentally, Praveen Chakravarty, chairman of the professionals’ wing and head of data analytics for the Congress, denied any correlation between Gandhi’s claims about the Maharashtra polls and Kumar’s now-deleted post. “Sanjay Kumar cited data for 2 assemblies (Ramtek & Deolali) to show the exact opposite & tried to disprove @RahulGandhi’s charge. He claimed that the total votes in these two assemblies have DECREASED & yet BJP alliance won after losing these seats in Lok Sabha,” he wrote.
Adding, “In fact, both assemblies confirm what @RahulGandhi said—the number of electors and voters increased, not decreased, and the BJP alliance won due to this increase. So, by deleting his post and admitting the error, @sanjaycsds inadvertently confirmed that @RahulGandhi’s claim about Maharashtra is accurate.”
This is astonishing stupidity by Bihar Chief Electoral Officer & all media
1: What has been @RahulGandhi & @INCIndia charge about Maharashtra 2024 Assembly elections all along?
– There has been an abnormal INCREASE in electors & voters between Lok Sabha & Assembly elections in… https://t.co/9Qc8i68Rvx pic.twitter.com/vSVxXYXjSQ
— Praveen Chakravarty (@pravchak) August 20, 2025
According to officials at ICSSR, CSDS receives 90 percent of its funding from the council. “The Grant-in-Aid scheme clearly mentions that in case of violation of norms, the funding can be stopped. We will examine the explanation CSDS gives within the seven days of the issuance of the show-cause and decide the future course of action,” a senior official told ThePrint on condition of anonymity.
ThePrint reached Sanjay Kumar for comment via calls and texts but had not received a response by the time of publication. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
Also Read: Give an oath, or apologise, no 3rd option—CEC Gyanesh Kumar on Rahul Gandhi’s ‘vote chori’ charge
What ICSSR said in show-cause notice
According to the show-cause notice, CSDS stands accused of “multiple serious irregularities”. The ICSSR took strong exception to a study by CSDS titled “How inclusive is EC’s special revision exercise”.
It alleged the study was based on a “biased interpretation” and CSDS was “deliberately scandalizing & maligning the reputation and image of the Election Commission of India”.
Another study on Maharashtra elections involved “incorrect statements” in the media by a CSDS employee, which were later retracted due to data errors, said the council.
“It has also come to notice of ICSSR that CSDS and its employees have deliberately been indulging in data manipulation with a deliberate and malicious action to create a narrative with the intention of undermining the sanctity of the constitution authority such as ‘Election Commission of India’. Therefore, CSDS is required to reveal the source of funding of both the aforesaid studies,” the notice stated.
It also highlighted the “appointment of faculty in violation of mandatory UGC regulations as well as guidelines issued by ICSSR,” which it said resulted in the “extension of illegal financial benefits” to such employees. ICSSR alleged similar breaches in the “appointment and promotion of non-academic staff,” in violation of recruitment rules and guidelines.
The show-cause notice further said CSDS failed to hold elections for the chairman of its governing body, thereby “violating the Memorandum of Association of the CSDS”.
The appointment process for the director was criticised as an “opaque method,” disregarding ICSSR’s instructions to follow an “objective and transparent method”.
Alleged financial irregularities cited include “non-deduction of pension component of staff who joined CSDS after getting pension from their earlier employer,” causing “illegal financial benefits” and loss of public funds.
The notice alleged that the aforementioned administrative and financial irregularities, along with ‘deliberate misrepresentation of facts’, constituted a gross violation of ICSSR Grant-in-Aid Rules. Consequently, it said “CSDS is required to submit its explanation as to why the grant-in-aid, which is discretionary in nature, should not be cancelled and withdrawn, and why CSDS should not be removed from the purview of the ICSSR Grant-in-Aid scheme”.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Also Read: Can ECI demand oath from Rahul Gandhi on ‘vote chori’ allegations? Here’s what the law says