Rahul Gandhi and Opposition Leaders Challenge Election Commission in Supreme Court Over Voter Roll Issues

Opposition Takes Legal Action Against Election Commission

In a significant move, Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, along with ten other leaders from the INDIA coalition, has approached the Supreme Court to contest the Election Commission of India's (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. They allege that this process has led to widespread voter deletions and various irregularities.

The writ petition was submitted on Monday, naming the ECI and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as respondents.

As per the latest updates on the Supreme Court's website, the petition was registered on October 12 under diary number 64196/2026 and is currently awaiting a hearing.

The petitioners include prominent figures such as Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Roy, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and several others from various political parties.

The respondents in this case are the Election Commission of India, CEC Gyanesh Kumar, and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.

This legal action comes amid rising tensions between the opposition and the Election Commission regarding the SIR process, with opposition leaders claiming it jeopardizes electoral integrity and risks disenfranchising eligible voters.

Earlier on the same day, Gandhi mentioned that Chief Justice of India Surya Kant had recommended that the opposition leaders file a formal petition after they sought a meeting to express their concerns about the SIR exercise.

During a press conference at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi, Gandhi stated that he and Kharge had reached out to the CJI to voice their worries about electoral integrity and what they termed an 'attack on democracy.' He urged citizens to support their campaign for constitutional rights and democracy.

Additionally, the opposition leaders initiated a protest march towards the Supreme Court, demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar due to alleged electoral irregularities.

In response, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticized the INDIA bloc, accusing them of politicizing the SIR controversy.

BJP spokesperson Guru Prakash Paswan dismissed the opposition's claims, asserting that the Supreme Court had already affirmed the constitutional validity of the SIR exercise. He labeled their allegations as unfounded and pointed out that the Congress party has been losing elections nationwide, including those conducted with ballot papers.