Supreme Court to hear Rahul Gandhi, INDIA bloc plea on SIR voter deletions today

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Thursday a joint petition filed by Opposition leaders, led by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, seeking a full and complete disclosure of the records relating to the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

According to the petition, the petitioners have asked the court to direct the release of "files, agendas, minutes, notings and objections" recorded by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi in the course of the exercise. The petition states that the revision has so far led to the deletion of about 13 crore voters across the country. That figure is the petitioners' claim; it has not been independently verified in this report.

What is SIR? The Special Intensive Revision is a door-to-door exercise under which the Election Commission verifies existing entries on the electoral roll. The Commission has maintained that the process is carried out under the law and is aimed at removing entries of electors who have died, have permanently shifted, or appear more than once on the rolls. It has said electors wrongly left out can seek redressal through the claims and objections process.

Opposition parties, including several constituents of the INDIA bloc, have questioned the scale of the deletions and argued that the exercise risks excluding legitimate voters. The Commission has rejected allegations of partisanship. The present petition turns on a narrower question: whether the internal records of the two Election Commissioners should be placed before the court and, by extension, before the public.

The outcome of Thursday's hearing is likely to be watched closely, as it touches on both the scope of judicial review over the Commission's functioning and the wider debate over the credibility of the electoral roll. The Commission has not publicly commented on the specifics of the plea in this report.

Separate challenge in Delhi High Court

In a related development, Indian Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chib has approached the Delhi High Court, challenging the Delhi Police's decision to withdraw Jantar Mantar's designation as a protest site. Jantar Mantar, built in the 18th century by Maharaja Jai Singh II as an astronomical observatory, has for decades also served as a designated venue for demonstrations in the capital. Its use for protests is governed by permissions granted by the Delhi Police. The Delhi Police has not commented on the petition in this report.

'Lehra Do Tiranga' call

Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke has called for a "Lehra Do Tiranga" gathering at Central Park, Connaught Place, in Delhi, on October 16 at 5 p.m. The announcement comes after party leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were sent to five days of judicial custody for allegedly waving the Tricolour at Jantar Mantar. It is not clear at this stage whether permission has been sought for the proposed gathering. Under Indian law, persons in custody are entitled to the presumption of innocence and to a fair trial.

What to watch

Three things bear watching on Thursday: the court's observations on the maintainability and scope of the disclosure plea; whether any interim direction is issued; and how the Delhi High Court deals with the challenge to Jantar Mantar's status as a protest site. This is developing news and details may change through the day.