A joint petition filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and several I.N.D.I. bloc opposition leaders challenging alleged electoral irregularities and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has been flagged for 14 defects by the Supreme Court registry. The objections include a shortfall of ₹220 in court fees, missing authorisations from nine petitioners and an illegible photocopy of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s identity card, as reported in NDTV.
The petition was filed on Monday as opposition leaders and supporters gathered in central Delhi and marched towards the Supreme Court, seeking action against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of electoral irregularities and what they termed “vote chori” (vote theft).
The petitioners will have to rectify the defects before the matter can be listed for hearing.
Supreme Court Registry Lists 14 Defects
Among the defects identified by the Supreme Court registry were missing vakalatnamas, or written authorisations empowering lawyers to represent certain petitioners, and the requirement to submit a clear copy of Kharge’s identity card.
The registry also flagged formatting and documentation issues, including the use of small fonts, the non-submission of coloured copies of two documents, dim or illegible text, missing pages, vernacular-language pages and discrepancies in page numbering.
The petition was filed by Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Supriya Sule, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, CPI leader D Raja, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Mahua Majhi, CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby and Indian Union Muslim League leader ET Mohammed Basheer, among others.
The respondents named in the petition include the Election Commission of India (ECI), Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
The case has been listed on the Supreme Court website as Rahul Gandhi v. Election Commission of India.
Ten Forms Of Relief Sought By I.N.D.I. Bloc
The petition seeks ten forms of relief concerning the SIR of electoral rolls and other decisions taken by the Election Commission.
According to details accessed by NDTV, the petition seeks directions for the production of all records relating to the SIR and scrutiny of the constitutional validity of decisions taken in connection with the revision exercise.
The petitioners have also sought action against officials they hold responsible, redressal of their grievances and an audit by an independent committee, among other forms of relief.
The Congress legal team filed the petition earlier in the day, while Rahul Gandhi reached the Supreme Court later in the evening.
Opposition March Follows Unsuccessful Attempt To Meet CJI
Monday’s march brought together opposition leaders and supporters who assembled in central Delhi before proceeding towards the Supreme Court to challenge the Election Commission over alleged electoral irregularities.
The march followed an unsuccessful attempt by I.N.D.I. bloc leaders to secure a meeting with Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
The opposition leaders had sought an audience with the Chief Justice to submit a memorandum demanding an end to alleged vote theft, the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, a halt to the SIR exercise and a return to paper ballots.
The Chief Justice declined the request for a meeting, stating that the matter was sub judice.
Before the march, however, Justice Kant had said that the Supreme Court’s doors remained open to everyone, including ordinary citizens and elected representatives, when asked how opposition leaders could present their grievances.
Subscribe to our channels on WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and YouTube to get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
