Rs 220 fee shortfall, missing docs: Supreme Court flags 14 'defects' in Rahul Gandhi's petition against Gyanesh Kumar
PTC News Desk: The Supreme Court registry has pointed out 14 defects in a petition filed by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and 10 other Opposition leaders over alleged voter deletions and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The petition has not yet been cleared for listing before the court for a hearing.
Flagging defects is a routine part of the Supreme Court’s filing process and does not mean the court has rejected the petition or ruled on its merits.
The objections include missing or unsigned lawyer authorisations, unclear supporting documents and a shortfall of ₹220 in court fees. The registry has also sought an explanation for naming individual Election Commissioners as private respondents in a writ petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution.
What defects has registry flagged ?
The registry has asked the petitioners to submit a clear and readable copy of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s identity card.
It has also pointed out that vakalatnamas—documents authorising lawyers to represent petitioners—are missing or unsigned for petitioners numbered 3 to 11. The nine leaders concerned are Saugata Roy, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Sanjay Raut, MA Baby, D Raja, Mahua Majhi, Supriya Sule and ET Mohammed Basheer.
The registry has also sought clear copies of supporting documents, including digital copies on a pen drive of the Election Commission’s June 24, 2025, decision to begin the SIR exercise and other records related to voter deletions.
What does petition seek ?
Rahul Gandhi and 10 other Opposition leaders filed the petition on Monday. The respondents named in the plea include the Election Commission of India, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
The petition seeks the formation of an independent committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, along with technical experts and other prominent citizens, to review deletions and changes to electoral rolls within a fixed timeframe.
The leaders have also sought an interim suspension of the ongoing SIR exercise across states until the Supreme Court decides the issues raised in the petition.
They want the court to direct that no voter be removed from the electoral rolls without prior notice and a reasonable opportunity to respond. They have also requested that eligible voters in Punjab and other states preparing for elections be allowed to apply for inclusion until the legally prescribed deadline.
Other demands include publishing the names of deleted voters booth-wise, providing reasons for each deletion and sharing a breakdown by gender and age. The petition also seeks a mechanism to restore the names of eligible voters who have been wrongly removed.
Additionally, the petitioners have asked for access to files, agendas, meeting minutes, internal notes and objections related to SIR decisions. They have also sought relevant access logs from the Election Commission’s ECINET and ERONET systems, along with the complete file concerning the June 24, 2025, decision to initiate the revision exercise.
- PTC NEWS
