HighLights
  1. Supreme Court Registry identified 14 defects in joint petition.
  2. Errors included missing documents, incomplete authorisations, blurred ID.
  3. Petition hearing delayed until all identified defects are rectified.

The Supreme Court Registry on Monday identified 14 defects in the petition filed by Congress leader Rahul and other INDIA bloc leaders. The errors included missing documents, incomplete authorisations for nine petitioners, a blurred copy of  Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s ID card and a Rs 220 court-fee shortfall, NDTV reported. The petition can be listed for hearing after the defects are rectified.  

Earlier, it was expected that the petition could be taken up tomorrow, but with the emergence of these errors, it may be delayed further.

Petition Filed In SC After Massive March

Gandhi and other leaders from the INDIA bloc filed the petition after a massive march to the Supreme Court over the alleged large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

ALSO READ: Stay On SIR To Disclosure Of Disagreements And Audit Of Voter Deletions: What Rahul Gandhi's Plea Against CEC Seeks

The plea has also been filed by Kharge, Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) MP Saugata Roy, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Nationalist Congress Party (Pawar) (NCP-SCP) leader Supriya Sule, Shiv Sena-UBT leader Sanjay Raut, Communist Party of India's (CPI) D Raja, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MP Mahua Majhi, CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML leader) E T Mohammed Basheer.

The petition has made the Election Commission of India, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and other Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi parties in the case.

Later in the evening, Gandhi and Kharge, accompanied by other INDIA bloc leaders, reached the Supreme Court to sign certain documents related to their petition.

 

ALSO READ: Who Is Jannat Bishnoi, The Young Activist Spotted Beside Rahul Gandhi During Supreme Court March?

What Has The Petition Sought?

The petition challenges the manner in which the Election Commission has taken decisions relating to the SIR of electoral rolls. The joint petition seeks disclosure of the EC’s complete files, agendas, minutes, notings and objections concerning the disputed decisions, including the June 24, 2025 decision to commence the SIR, as well as ECINET and ERONET access logs.

It also seeks a judicial examination of whether these decisions were taken in accordance with Article 324 of the Constitution, the 2023 law governing the Election Commission and the Supreme Court’s ruling in TN Seshan v Union of India.

Among the substantive reliefs sought, the petition asks the court to ensure that no elector is deleted without notice and a reasonable opportunity of hearing, and to direct publication, booth-wise, of deleted electors along with reasons for deletion and demographic details. It also seeks an independent committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to audit deletions and modifications in electoral-roll databases, including ECINET and ERONET. The petition further seeks an interim suspension of the ongoing SIR pending adjudication.

The petition specifically urges the court to direct the ECI to ensure that “every decision of the Election Commission relating to the Special Intensive Revision is taken and duly minuted” in accordance with the 2023 Act. It also seeks a direction that “no elector is deleted from the electoral roll without notice and a reasonable opportunity of hearing in accordance with law.”

(With Agencies Inputs)


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