Rahul Gandhi Moves Supreme Court Against ECI Over SIR, Seeks Halt And Audit

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and 10 INDIA bloc leaders have moved the Supreme Court against the Election Commission of India over issues tied to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and alleged poll irregularities. The petition was filed on Monday, it asks the court to examine whether the ongoing SIR process affects electoral integrity and the constitutional rights of eligible citizens to register and vote.

As Gandhi could not reach the Supreme Court to file the petition in person, his advocate, S Prasanna, filed it before the court. The respondents named in the petition are the ECI, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, Hindustan Times reported.

The plea accuses Gyanesh Kumar of using the election body's collective powers in a “unilateral and arbitrary exercise” during the ongoing SIR. It also says the process threatens electoral integrity and violates eligible citizens’ constitutional right to register as voters and cast their vote.

SIR Suspension Demand

The plea wants the court to order the ECI to stop the Special Intensive Revision across the States of the Union until it hears and decides the issues raised. It says the halt is needed to protect eligible voters and keep the electoral process intact.

It also seeks the full record behind the disputed SIR decisions. That includes complete files, agendas, minutes, notings and objections linked to each challenged decision, along with relevant ECINET and ERONET access logs.

The plea also asks for the file that led to the June 24, 2025 decision to launch the SIR nationwide. It cites Articles 14, 19 and 21, along with Article 324 of the Constitution of India.

The petition also asks the court to test the disputed SIR decisions against Article 324, Section 18 of the 2023 Act governing Election Commissioners and the Supreme Court’s ruling in T.N. Seshan v. Union of India. It wants any order found unlawful to be quashed or set aside.

The plea also seeks action against those who breached constitutional or legal rules on preparing and revising electoral rolls, including Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.

Audit And Disclosure

The petition seeks an independent committee. It asks for a panel headed by a retired Supreme Court judge with technical experts and other eminent citizens.

That committee, if set up, would audit voter deletions and modifications made during the SIR. It would also examine access to and changes made to electoral-roll databases, including ECINET and ERONET.

The plea goes beyond electoral rolls. It seeks a review of decisions, policies, procedures and technical systems related to Electronic Voting Machines, in line with global best practices to ensure free and fair elections.

It also asks the ECI to publish booth-wise lists of all voters deleted during the SIR. Along with that, the petition seeks reasons for each deletion and a gender- and age-wise breakdown.

The petition further seeks an effective mechanism to restore the names of eligible voters to the electoral rolls. That request is tied to the wider demand for disclosure of how deletions were made and who was affected.

Deletion Safeguards

The plea seeks procedural checks on the commission’s functioning. It asks the court to direct the ECI to ensure that every decision related to the SIR is taken and duly minuted in line with Section 18 of the 2023 Act.

It also seeks a direction on Form 6. The petition asks that the online Form 6 conform to the form prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, unless and until those rules are lawfully amended under the applicable procedure.

The petition says no voter’s name should be deleted without prior notice and a reasonable opportunity of hearing in accordance with law. It also seeks to ensure that eligible persons in Punjab and other poll-bound states can apply for inclusion in the electoral rolls until the last date allowed by law.

The plea ends with a wider prayer for relief. It asks the court to grant any other order it deems fit and proper to protect the integrity of the electoral process and the right of every eligible citizen to vote.