Supreme Court issues notice to ECI, CEC Gyanesh Kumar over INDIA bloc's plea on SIR
PTC News Desk: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notices to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on petitions filed by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders. The petitions challenge large-scale voter deletions and alleged 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 Chief Election Commissioner. The court also linked these petitions to other cases already pending before it that challenge the validity of the SIR exercise in various states.
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"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 ordered.
The other petitioners in the matter 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 MA Baby, Communist Party of India leader D Raja, Mahua Majhi of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Supriya Sule of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar faction), and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader Mohammed Basheer.
The development comes amid protests in Delhi against the SIR process, with demonstrators also demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The protests followed a recent report by The Indian Express, which alleged that Kumar had taken several decisions related to the SIR on his own, despite objections from two other Election Commissioners.
Over the weekend, Delhi Police detained several protesters and imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The detentions led to several petitions being filed in the Supreme Court. Some petitions alleged that lawyers and journalists were also detained and prevented from carrying out their professional duties.
Meanwhile, on October 12, Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders marched towards the Supreme Court with a large crowd and filed a petition challenging large-scale voter deletions and alleged irregularities in the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls.
- PTC NEWS
