The Supreme Court is likely to take up on Tuesday a petition filed on behalf of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and 10 other INDIA bloc leaders, challenging the conduct of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in connection with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and seeking judicial intervention in the functioning of the Election Commission of India.
Advocate S Prasanna moved the petition on Monday on behalf of the Opposition leaders after Chief Justice of India Surya Kant declined to meet them during their march to the Supreme Court and asked them to seek relief through the formal judicial process.
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The INDIA bloc had planned to raise its concerns directly with the Chief Justice but was asked to file a formal petition instead. As Rahul Gandhi could not reach the Supreme Court before the 4:30 pm filing deadline, advocate S Prasanna submitted the petition on his behalf.
The Supreme Court registry has been directed to process the petition on Monday and rectify any defects to facilitate its listing for a hearing on Tuesday.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant is likely to take up the matter, in line with the Chief Justice's indication that a petition filed by Monday evening could be heard the following day.
Besides Gandhi, the petition names Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and several INDIA bloc leaders, including Saugata Roy, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Sanjay Raut, MA Baby, D Raja, Mahua Majhi, Supriya Sule and ET Mohammed Basheer.
The legal move follows an opposition campaign against Kumar over decisions linked to the SIR exercise.
The revision process is intended to update electoral rolls by removing the names of deceased voters and those who have shifted from their registered addresses.
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However, the exercise has drawn criticism from Opposition parties, which have raised concerns about voter deletions and the Election Commission's decision-making process.
The controversy grew after a newspaper report alleged that some decisions related to the SIR exercise were taken without informing the other two Election Commissioners.
Rahul Gandhi has been among the leading voices in the Opposition's campaign against the Election Commission's handling of the exercise. He has called for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign over the allegations.
On Monday, Gandhi and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra joined INDIA bloc leaders and thousands of supporters in a march towards the Supreme Court. Organisers called it a "March for Democracy".
Before the march, Gandhi accused Kumar of being involved in wrongdoing but suggested that the Chief Election Commissioner was not the person behind the decisions being questioned.
"Resign, turn approver; you have made a mistake, but you are not the mind behind the mistake," Gandhi said, adding that Kumar would not remain in office.
Protests over the SIR exercise have continued in the national capital. The Cockroach Janta Party, a pressure group that had called for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in July, had also demanded Kumar's removal over the issue.
Delhi Police stopped the group's planned march and detained more than 3,000 supporters, according to the report.
The Supreme Court is expected to hear the matter on Tuesday, giving the Opposition an opportunity to present its concerns before the court.
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