Rahul Gandhi, 10 other INDIA bloc leaders move Supreme Court against SIR, CEC Gyanesh Kumar

The Opposition leaders had also begun a protest march towards the Supreme Court, demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the electoral process.

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and 10 other INDIA bloc leaders have filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the exercise.

The writ petition, filed on Monday, names the ECI and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar among the respondents.

According to the case status on the Supreme Court’s website, the petition was registered under diary number 64196/2026 on October 12 and is currently pending.

Who are the petitioners?

The petition lists 11 Opposition leaders from various parties in the INDIA bloc. They are Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Roy, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, CPI(M) leader M.A. Baby, CPI leader D. Raja, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Mahua Majhi, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule and Indian Union Muslim League leader E.T. Mohammed Basheer.

The respondents named in the petition are the Election Commission of India, CEC Gyanesh Kumar, Election Commissioner Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Election Commissioner Vivek Joshi.

Rahul Gandhi says CJI advised opposition to file petition

The legal move comes amid an escalating confrontation between the Opposition and the poll body over the SIR exercise. INDIA bloc leaders have argued that the revision process threatens electoral fairness and could lead to eligible voters being excluded from electoral rolls.

Earlier on Monday, Gandhi said Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant had advised Opposition leaders to approach the Supreme Court through a formal petition after they sought an appointment to raise their concerns over the exercise.

Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi, Gandhi said he and Kharge had written to the CJI, expressing concerns about electoral fairness and an “attack on democracy”.
He announced that INDIA bloc leaders would jointly approach the apex court to initiate legal proceedings. Gandhi also appealed to citizens to join their campaign in support of the Constitution and democracy.

The Opposition leaders had also begun a protest march towards the Supreme Court, demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the electoral process.

BJP dismisses opposition’s allegations

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched a sharp attack on the INDIA bloc, accusing it of turning the SIR controversy into a political spectacle.

Speaking to IANS, BJP national spokesperson Guru Prakash Paswan dismissed the Opposition’s allegations, claiming that the Supreme Court had already ruled on the constitutional validity of the SIR exercise.

“This is baseless… They are lying. The Supreme Court has already ruled on the constitutionality of SIR,” he said.

Paswan also alleged that the Congress was losing elections across the country, including polls conducted using ballot papers. He cited local elections in Silchar in Assam, Tripura and Himachal Pradesh to support his argument.

(with IANS inputs)

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