Supreme Court Registry flags 10 defects in Rahul Gandhi’s plea on SIR voter roll irregularities

The Supreme Court Registry has flagged more than 10 defects in a petition filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders alleging large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

According to sources, the Registry on Monday asked the filing lawyer to submit a clear copy of the identity card of Congress president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, one of the co-petitioners. It also flagged illegible or missing pages and a shortfall of over Rs 200 in court fee.

Rahul and several other Opposition leaders marched to the apex court on Monday to file the petition, which may come up for hearing on Tuesday.

Plea seeks independent audit of SIR

The petition has sought the constitution of an independent committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge and assisted by technical experts and other citizens of eminence to conduct an audit of deletions and modifications made during the SIR within a fixed time.

It has also sought an interim direction to suspend the ongoing SIR across states pending adjudication of the issues raised in the petition.

The plea seeks to ensure that no elector is deleted from the electoral roll without notice and a reasonable opportunity of hearing in accordance with law. It has also sought to allow eligible persons in Punjab and other poll-bound states to seek inclusion in electoral rolls until the last date permitted by law.

Opposition leaders seek disclosure of deletion data

Kharge, TMC MP Saugata Roy, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, NCP (SCP) leader Supriya Sule and Shiv Sena-UBT leader Sanjay Raut are among the other petitioners.

The petition has sought directions to the Election Commission to publish booth-wise lists of electors deleted during the SIR, along with the reasons for each deletion and a breakdown by gender and age. It has also sought an effective mechanism to restore the names of eligible voters.

The plea further seeks disclosure of records, including files, minutes, objections and access logs relating to disputed SIR decisions, and an examination of whether the decisions complied with constitutional and statutory provisions.

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