Supreme Court to hear Rahul Gandhi's plea over SIR voter deletions; here's what the LoP's petition states

The Supreme Court will hear on Thursday a plea filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and several other Opposition leaders alleging large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The petition seeks an independent audit of deletions and modifications made during the SIR, safeguards against removing electors without notice, and an interim suspension of the revision exercise across states. The court will also hear separate petitions concerning protests and transport disruptions ahead of an October 10 agitation in Delhi against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Supreme Court hearing on voter roll revision

According to the cause list dated October 15 and uploaded on the Supreme Court website, the plea will be heard by a Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi. Gandhi and several other Opposition leaders marched to the court on Monday to file the petition.

The petition seeks the constitution of an independent committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge and assisted by technical experts and other eminent citizens. It has asked that the committee conduct a time-bound, independent audit of the deletions and modifications made during the SIR.

Besides Gandhi, the co-petitioners include Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, TMC MP Saugata Roy, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) leader Supriya Sule, Shiv Sena-UBT leader Sanjay Raut and Communist Party of India leader D Raja, along with some other leaders.

Plea seeks suspension of ongoing SIR

The petition has sought directions to ensure that no elector is deleted from the electoral rolls without notice and a reasonable opportunity to be heard in accordance with the law. It has also sought to ensure that eligible people in Punjab and other poll-bound states are allowed to apply for inclusion in the electoral rolls until the last date permitted by law.

“Issue an interim direction suspending the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls across the states, pending consideration and adjudication of the issues raised in the present petition, in the interests of protecting the rights of eligible electors and preserving the integrity of the electoral process,” the plea said.

The Election Commission of India, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi have been made parties in the case.

Petition seeks Election Commission records

The petition has asked the court to direct the Election Commission to place on record the complete files, agendas, minutes, notings and objections recorded by the Election Commissioners concerning each of the “disputed decisions” relating to the SIR.

It has also sought the relevant ECINET, or Election Commission Information Network, and ERONET, or Electoral Roll Officers' Network, access logs. The petition has further asked for the complete files recording the June 24, 2025, decision to begin the SIR exercise across the country.

The plea has sought an examination of whether the disputed decisions were taken in compliance with 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 law declared by the Supreme Court.

Article 324 vests the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls and the conduct of elections in the Election Commission. The plea said any decision taken without lawful authority must be quashed.

Booth-wise details of voter deletions sought

The petition has sought directions for the booth-wise publication of the names of all electors deleted during the SIR, the reasons for each deletion and a breakdown of the deletions by gender and age. It has also asked for an effective and functional mechanism to restore the names of electors found eligible for inclusion in the voter list.

The Bench will separately hear petitions concerning protests, the closure of Metro stations and disruptions to train services ahead of the October 10 agitation in Delhi against the Chief Election Commissioner. The city has witnessed several protests demanding his resignation over alleged irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls.

(With inputs from PTI)