The Supreme Court will hear on Thursday a petition filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and several other opposition leaders challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging large-scale deletion of genuine voters and irregularities in the exercise.
According to the cause list uploaded on the apex court’s website, the matter will be heard by a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and other opposition leaders marched to the Supreme Court on Monday to file the petition. The other petitioners include Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, CPI leader D Raja, JMM MP Mahua Majhi, CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby and IUML leader E T Mohammed Basheer.
The petition names the Election Commission of India, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi as respondents.
The opposition leaders have alleged that the SIR exercise is leading to the large-scale deletion of genuine voters, particularly young people, migrants and marginalised communities.
They have challenged the legality of the revision and sought judicial scrutiny of the Election Commission’s decision-making process.
What the petition seeks
The petition seeks the suspension of the SIR exercise across states until the case is decided. It also seeks the production of records relating to the revision, including files, minutes, official notings and objections raised by Election Commissioners, along with ECINET and ERONET access logs.
The petitioners have sought the complete file relating to the Election Commission’s June 24, 2025, decision to initiate the SIR, and an examination of whether the decision complied with Article 324 of the Constitution, Section 18 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, and the principles laid down in the T N Seshan judgment.
They have also sought directions requiring collective decision-making and proper documentation of SIR-related decisions, along with a review of the online Form 6 process to ensure compliance with the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
The plea further seeks a committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to audit voter deletions and access to electoral-roll databases, and review electronic voting machine processes against global best practices.
Other demands include the booth-wise publication of deleted voters’ names and reasons for their removal, age- and gender-wise data on deletions, and a mechanism to restore wrongly deleted names. The petitioners have also sought a direction that no voter be removed without prior notice and an opportunity to be heard.
They have further sought action against those responsible for alleged violations, including under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and an extension of the deadline for eligible voters in Punjab and other poll-bound states to apply for inclusion in the electoral rolls.
The petition comes amid protests in Delhi demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise.
(With inputs from PTI)