New Delhi, October 2026 : Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and 10 other INDIA bloc leaders have approached the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission of India's (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the exercise.
The writ petition was filed on Monday, October 12, naming the ECI and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar among the respondents. According to the case status available on the Supreme Court's website, the petition was registered under diary number 64196/2026 and is currently pending.
The petitioners include Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Roy, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, CPI(M) leader M.A. Baby, CPI leader D. Raja, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Mahua Majhi, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule and Indian Union Muslim League leader E.T. Mohammed Basheer, along with Rahul Gandhi.
The respondents named in the petition are the Election Commission of India, CEC Gyanesh Kumar, Election Commissioner Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Election Commissioner Vivek Joshi.
The legal challenge comes amid an escalating dispute between the Opposition and the poll body over the SIR exercise. INDIA bloc parties have raised concerns that the revision process could lead to the deletion of eligible voters from electoral rolls, affecting the fairness and inclusiveness of elections.
The Opposition has demanded greater transparency in the revision process and accountability from the Election Commission over the alleged irregularities.
Earlier on Monday, Gandhi said Chief Justice of India Surya Kant had advised Opposition leaders to approach the Supreme Court through a formal petition after they sought an appointment to discuss their concerns over the SIR exercise.
Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi, Gandhi said he and Kharge had written to the CJI expressing their concerns about electoral fairness and what they described as an attack on democracy.
Gandhi announced that INDIA bloc leaders would jointly initiate legal proceedings and urged citizens to support their campaign in defence of the Constitution and democratic institutions.
The Opposition leaders also planned a protest march towards the Supreme Court, demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over the alleged irregularities in the electoral roll revision.
The leaders maintained that their campaign was intended to protect voters' rights and ensure that eligible citizens were not excluded from the electoral process.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticised the INDIA bloc's allegations, accusing the Opposition of turning the SIR controversy into a political spectacle.
BJP national spokesperson Guru Prakash Paswan, speaking to IANS, rejected the allegations and argued that the Supreme Court had already addressed the constitutional validity of the SIR exercise.
“This is baseless... They are lying. The Supreme Court has already ruled on the constitutionality of SIR,” Paswan said.
He also accused the Congress of losing elections across the country, including polls conducted using ballot papers. To support his argument, he referred to local elections in Silchar in Assam, Tripura and Himachal Pradesh.
The BJP's response reflects the political divide over the electoral roll revision, with the ruling party defending the process and the Opposition questioning its implementation and consequences.
With the writ petition now pending before the Supreme Court, the legal proceedings could provide a forum for the INDIA bloc to present its concerns regarding the SIR exercise. The court's consideration of the matter will be distinct from the political arguments being exchanged between the Opposition and the BJP.
The controversy has brought electoral roll revision, voter inclusion and the Election Commission's role into sharper political focus, with both sides maintaining opposing positions on the exercise.
