Guwahati/New Delhi, Oct 12: Opposition leaders took their fight over the electoral rolls to the Supreme Court on Monday, filing a petition that alleges large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) while a march of supporters moved through the capital.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and 10 other INDIA bloc leaders filed the writ petition.
They include Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool’s Saugata Roy, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav.
The petition names the Election Commission of India (ECI) and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar among the respondents.
According to the case status on the apex court’s website, the petition, filed under diary number 64196/2026, is pending.
It is reportedly 124 pages long, including annexures, and has 10 demands.
The petition alleges that the CEC exercised the Commission’s collective powers without the knowledge, approval or concurrence of the other Election Commissioners.
Among its key prayers, it seeks an interim suspension of SIR across all States.
It also asks for a committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to audit SIR deletions and access to electoral-roll databases, and to review EVM processes against global best practices, according to a report by Bar And Bench, a legal website, on Monday.
Gandhi said on Monday that CJI Surya Kant had advised the Opposition leaders to file a formal petition after declining their request for a meeting.
The Supreme Court has reportedly directed its registry to process the petition today and the matter is expected/scheduled to be heard on Tuesday along with pending related matters.
The filing came as Gandhi led the INDIA bloc’s “Chalo Dilli” march from Connaught Place to the Supreme Court. The “March for Democracy” was meant to press the “vote chori” charge and protest against the CEC.
Opposition MPs first gathered at the Constitution Club and headed for the Barakhamba Road junction. A huge gathering of supporters and activists joined them, and Congress flags and anti-CEC slogans filled the Outer Circle of Connaught Place.
Those leading the march included Gandhi and Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, CPI’s D Raja, CPI(M)’s M A Baby, Tejashwi Yadav, NCP-SP’s Supriya Sule, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Sanjay Raut, CPI(ML)’s Dipankar Bhattacharya and IUML’s E T Mohammed Basheer.
Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said in a social media post that “the people of Delhi took a breath of fresh air in the toxic regime of Prime Minister Modi-Home Minister Amit Shah.”
He added that people had turned out in droves, buoyed by the call to struggle made at Gandhi’s press conference.
With inputs from agencies.