The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Election Commission of India (ECI) on a plea by Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders over alleged large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
The Court sought responses from the ECI, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi on the plea.
The Court also expressed strong objections to the conduct of one of the 13 petitioners who challenged the manner in which the ECI is conducting the SIR of electoral rolls.
“We would like to ask one of the petitioners about his conduct on the next date of hearing,” said the CJI while issuing notice in the plea of Rahul Gandhi’s and other opposition leader.
Notices were also issued to Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and others on plea against the march to apex court over alleged SIR irregularities.
During the hearing, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant remarked that nobody can browbeat the judiciary.
"We are not sitting in ivory towers," the CJI remarked after some lawyers referred to the march by Rahul Gandhi and others to the apex court.
In addition, the apex court issued notice to the union government and others on various pleas related to Election Commission filed by leaders like Asaduddin Owaisi.
The petition filed by Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders in the Supreme Court challenges the manner in which the Election Commission has taken decisions relating to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
It seeks disclosure of the EC’s complete files, agendas, minutes, notings and objections concerning the disputed decisions, including the June 24, 2025 decision to commence the SIR, as well as ECINET and ERONET access logs.
It also seeks a judicial examination of whether these decisions were taken in accordance with Article 324 of the Constitution, the 2023 law governing the Election
Commission and the Supreme Court’s ruling in T N Seshan vs Union of India.
Among the substantive reliefs sought, the petition asks the court to ensure that no elector is deleted without notice and a reasonable opportunity of hearing, and to direct publication, booth-wise, of deleted electors along with reasons for deletion and demographic details.
It also seeks an independent committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to audit deletions and modifications in electoral-roll databases, including ECINET and ERONET. The petition further seeks an interim suspension of the ongoing SIR pending adjudication.
(With inputs from PTI & ANI)
(This is a developing story. More details will be updated.)