New Delhi, Oct 15: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notices to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and senior election officials on a petition filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and large-scale voter deletions.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi sought responses from Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. The court directed that the petition be tagged with pending cases related to the issue.
During the hearing, the bench also raised questions about the conduct of one of the petitioners after lawyers referred to the opposition leaders’ march to the Supreme Court over the alleged SIR irregularities.
Supreme Court Warns Against Pressuring Judiciary
The bench observed that nobody could browbeat the judiciary, emphasising that the court was not disconnected from public concerns. The remarks came during discussions about the opposition leaders’ march to the apex court.
Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and several other opposition leaders had marched to the Supreme Court on Monday to raise concerns about alleged irregularities in the SIR process.
The court also issued notices to Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and others on a separate plea challenging their march to the Supreme Court.
Election Commission Faces Questions Over Alleged Voter Deletions
The petition filed by opposition leaders raises concerns about alleged large-scale deletions of voters and irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls. The legal challenge comes amid protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations concerning the SIR process.
The notices issued by the Supreme Court seek responses from the election authorities. The allegations remain subject to judicial consideration.
Supreme Court Discusses Unconditional Apology in Contempt Matter
During the proceedings, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta referred to an unconditional apology submitted by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan in a separate contempt matter.
Mehta submitted that offering an unconditional apology did not prevent authorities from defending their actions and described it as part of the legal procedure.
The bench clarified that it was not taking cognisance of media reports concerning unconditional apologies submitted by authorities before the court.
The contempt matter involved allegations of non-compliance with the Supreme Court’s direction to ensure that there was no complete prohibition on Metro and train services in Delhi following an October 10 protest called by the Cockroach Janta Party.
Court Takes Up Other Petitions Related to Election Commission
The Supreme Court also issued notices to the Centre and other respondents in various petitions concerning the Election Commission, including pleas filed by leaders such as Asaduddin Owaisi.
Additionally, the apex court agreed to examine a petition challenging the de-notification of Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site.
The developments come amid growing political debate over electoral roll revisions, alleged voter deletions and the functioning of the Election Commission. The Supreme Court’s consideration of these petitions is expected to bring further judicial scrutiny to the issues raised by the petitioners.
