The Supreme Court will hear a petition on October 15 concerning allegations of large-scale voter deletions and irregularities during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and several other opposition leaders have approached the court, seeking an independent audit, disclosure of booth-wise details and safeguards to protect eligible voters' rights.
According to the case list available on the Supreme Court's website, the matter will be heard by a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Suryakant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
The opposition leaders have asked the Supreme Court to constitute an independent committee to examine names deleted from electoral rolls and changes made during the SIR process. They have proposed that the committee be headed by a retired Supreme Court judge and include technical experts and other eminent citizens.
According to the petitioners, the committee should conduct an independent audit of changes to the electoral rolls within a specified timeframe. They contend that such an exercise could help improve transparency and identify potential errors in the process.
The petition also seeks directions requiring authorities to issue notice in accordance with the applicable rules before deleting any voter's name and provide the affected individual with a reasonable opportunity to present their case. The opposition leaders have argued that the removal of eligible citizens from electoral rolls could affect their democratic rights.
The petitioners have requested an interim stay on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision process in the concerned states until the court delivers its final decision. They have argued that continuing the exercise before the completion of the examination could affect the rights of eligible voters.
They have also sought adequate opportunities for eligible citizens in Punjab and other poll-bound states to have their names included in the electoral rolls within the prescribed timeframe. The Supreme Court's position on these requests will become clear during the hearing.
Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge are among the opposition leaders named in the petition. Other petitioners include Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav.
The petition has also been filed by Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut and Communist Party of India leader D. Raja, among other opposition leaders.
The opposition parties have raised questions about the electoral roll revision process and its potential implications.
The petition seeks directions to the Election Commission of India to submit key documents related to the SIR process before the court. These include files concerning disputed decisions, meeting agendas, minutes of proceedings, officials' comments and recorded objections.
The petitioners have also sought access logs from electoral digital platforms such as ECINET and ERONET. In addition, they have requested records relating to the decision to launch the SIR exercise nationwide on June 24, 2025.
The petition seeks scrutiny of whether the decisions concerned were taken in accordance with Article 324 of the Constitution, Section 18 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, and relevant Supreme Court judgments.
The petitioners have argued that any decision taken without legal authority should be set aside.
