SC issues notice to ECI, Gyanesh Kumar on INDIA bloc petitions against SIR

The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on a batch of petitions filed by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders challenging alleged large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi sought responses from the ECI and the CEC and directed that the petitions be tagged with pleas already pending before the court challenging the validity of the SIR in various states.

“We are issuing notice and tagging it with the matters already pending. Somebody will accept notice on behalf of the Election Commission of India. Otherwise, serve them,” the court said.

The bench also indicated that it would examine the conduct of one of the petitioners at the next hearing, without specifying who it was referring to.

“Issue notice. But one objection, before that. We would like to ask one of the petitioners about his conduct on the next date of hearing. Issuing notice does not mean that we are condemning anything," the court observed.

"The notice on behalf of one of the petitioners will be entertained on a provisional basis, subject to his explaining his conduct,” the court added.

The other petitioners include Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Roy, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader M A Baby, Communist Party of India leader D Raja, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Mahua Majhi, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar faction) leader Supriya Sule, and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader Mohammed Basheer.

The development comes amid protests in Delhi against the conduct of the SIR and demands for the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.

The demonstrations followed a recent report by The Indian Express alleging that Kumar had taken several decisions concerning the SIR unilaterally, despite objections from two Election Commissioners.

The Delhi Police detained several protesters over the weekend and imposed prohibitory restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The detentions prompted several petitions before the Supreme Court, including allegations that lawyers and journalists had also been detained and prevented from carrying out their professional duties.

On October 12, Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders marched towards the Supreme Court along with a large crowd and filed the petitions challenging alleged large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the ongoing revision of electoral rolls.
(With BarandBench inputs)