The Supreme Court on Thursday sought responses from the Election Commission of India (ECI) and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on petitions filed by Rahul Gandhi and several other opposition leaders alleging large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notices to the poll body and the CEC, while directing that the petitions be heard along with other pleas already pending before the Court against the SIR exercise in various states.
“We are issuing notice and tagging it with the matters already pending. Somebody will accept notice on behalf of the Election Commission of India. Otherwise, serve them,” the bench said.
During the hearing, the Court also raised a separate concern about the conduct of one of the petitioners. Although it did not name the individual, the bench said the petitioner would be asked to explain his conduct at the next hearing.
The judges made it clear that issuing notice did not amount to a finding against anyone. However, they said the notice concerning one petitioner would be accepted provisionally until he explained his conduct before the Court.
The petitions have been filed by several prominent opposition leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Roy, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut.
Other petitioners include CPI(M) leader MA Baby, CPI leader D Raja, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Mahua Majhi, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule and Indian Union Muslim League leader Mohammed Basheer.
The case comes amid growing opposition to the SIR exercise, with protests in Delhi also calling for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to step down.
The demonstrations gained momentum after a report by *The Indian Express* alleged that Kumar had taken several decisions related to the revision exercise without the agreement of two other Election Commissioners.
The protests also led to police action in the national capital over the weekend. Delhi Police detained several demonstrators and imposed restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
The detentions subsequently became the subject of multiple petitions before the Supreme Court. Some of the pleas alleged that lawyers and journalists were among those detained and were prevented from carrying out their professional duties.
On October 12, Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders marched towards the Supreme Court along with a large gathering before filing their petition against the alleged deletion of voters and irregularities in the ongoing SIR exercise. The plea also sought action against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.