The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on a batch of petitions filed by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders challenging large-scale voter deletions and alleged irregularities in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi sought the responses of the ECI and CEC and tagged the pleas with petitions already pending before the Court challenging the validity of SIR in various States.
"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.
Pertinently, the Court said that it will ask one of the petitioners to explain his conduct. However, the bench did not specify which petitioner it was referring to.
"Issue notice.But one objection, before that. We would like to ask one of the petitioners about his conduct on the next date of hearing. Issuing notice does not mean that we are condemning anything. We are issuing notice. But about one of the petitioners, we will definitely entertain the issue. Issue notice. The notice on behalf of one of the petitioners will be entertained on a provisional basis, subject to his explaining his conduct," the Court said
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 a spate of demonstrations in Delhi against the conduct of SIR and demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
The protests followed a recent report published by the Indian Express which alleged that Kumar had taken several decision regarding the SIR unilaterally, despite certain objections raised by two Election Commissioners.
Several protestors were detained over the weekend by the Delhi police, which issued prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The en masse detentions have led to the filing of several petitions before the Supreme Court, including those alleging that even lawyers and journalists were detained and prevented from carrying out their professional duties.
Meanwhile, Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders marched to the Supreme Court along with a huge crowd on October 12 and filed the petition challenging large-scale voter deletions and alleged irregularities in the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls.
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