New Delhi, Oct 13: The Supreme Court registry has flagged 14 defects in a joint petition filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders, who have alleged large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
According to sources, the registry has asked the lawyer who filed the petition to submit a legible copy of the identity card of Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, one of the co-petitioners.
The registry also flagged illegible or missing pages and a shortfall of Rs 220 in court fees. Other reported objections include missing authorisation documents and incomplete filing formalities.
It has also sought digital copies, including on a pen drive, of the Election Commission’s June 24, 2025, decision to initiate the revision, along with other relevant records. The legibility of supporting documents submitted with the plea was also questioned.
The petition, filed under diary number 64196/2026, has not yet been cleared for listing for a hearing, according to reports on the registry’s objections.
Gandhi and several other opposition leaders marched towards the Supreme Court on Monday to submit the plea, taking their challenge to the electoral roll revision process to the judiciary.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar have been named as respondents in the case.
The petition, reportedly spanning 124 pages, including annexures, sets out 10 demands and alleges irregularities in the exercise of powers by the Chief Election Commissioner.
Among its key demands, the petition seeks an interim suspension of the SIR process across all states.
It also calls for an independent committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge and assisted by technical experts and eminent citizens to audit deletions and modifications made to electoral rolls during the revision exercise within a stipulated timeframe.
The plea further seeks access to electoral roll databases and a review of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) processes against global best practices, according to legal website Bar and Bench.
PTI