The Supreme Court will hear Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders’ plea over alleged voter deletions and irregularities in the SIR of electoral rollsThe petition seeks an independent audit, protection for eligible voters and a temporary halt to the revision process.
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CEC-SIR row: Supreme Court to hear Rahul Gandhi, INDIA Bloc Leaders’ plea against Gyanesh Kumar and SIR (Image: File/Agency)
The Supreme Court will hear a petition on Thursday, October 15, filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders over alleged voter deletions and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rollsAccording to the court’s cause list, the matter will be heard by a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
Rahul Gandhi and several opposition leaders approached the Supreme Court on Monday to file the petitionThey have raised concerns about the removal of names from voter lists and changes made during the SIR process.
Read more:
SIR Row: CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka sent to Tihar for five-day judicial custody
What does the petition seek?
The petition seeks the formation of an independent committee led by a retired Supreme Court judgeThe committee would include technical experts and other respected individualsIts job would be to examine the deletions and changes made to electoral rolls and complete an independent audit within a fixed period.
The leaders have also asked the court to ensure that no voter’s name is removed from the electoral list without prior notice and a fair chance to explain their caseThey have further requested that eligible voters in Punjab and other states heading for elections be allowed to apply for inclusion in the voter list within the time permitted by law.
The petition also asks the Supreme Court to temporarily stop the ongoing SIR process across states until the court reaches a decision on the issues raisedThe leaders said this step was necessary to protect eligible voters’ rights and maintain the fairness of elections.
Several other petitions related to protests in Delhi will also come up for hearingThese cases concern the closure of metro stations and disruptions to train services ahead of the October 10 protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Protests calling the CEC’s resignation
Delhi has witnessed protests calling for the CEC’s resignation over alleged problems in the revision of electoral rolls.
Apart from Rahul Gandhi, the petition includes Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav.
Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) leader Supriya Sule, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, Communist Party of India leader D Raja and several other opposition leaders are also among the petitioners.
The petition has named the Election Commission of India (ECI), Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi as respondents in the case.
The opposition leaders have asked the Supreme Court to direct the Election Commission to submit all records related to key decisions taken during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rollsThese include official files, meeting agendas, minutes, internal notes and objections raised by the Election Commissioners.
They have also sought access to relevant records from ECINET (Election Commission Information Network) and ERONET (Electoral Roll Officers’ Network)The petition further seeks the complete documents related to the Election Commission’s June 24, 2025, decision to launch the SIR exercise across the country.
The leaders have asked the court to examine whether the decisions taken during the revision process followed Article 324 of the Constitution, Section 18 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, and the legal principles laid down by the Supreme Court.
Article 324 gives the Election Commission the authority to oversee the preparation of electoral rolls and the conduct of electionsThe petition states that any decision found to have been taken without proper legal authority should be cancelled.
The plea has also called for the publication of a booth-wise list of all voters whose names were deleted during the SIR processIt seeks details of the reasons for each deletion, along with a breakdown of the affected voters by age and gender.
In addition, the petition asks the court to ensure that a proper system is put in place to restore the names of eligible voters who were wrongly left out of the electoral rolls.
