Rahul Gandhi Supreme Court Petition Against Election Commission Paused: 14 Defects Delay Hearing

Rahul Gandhi and top INDIA bloc leaders must fix 14 technical defects in their Supreme Court petition against the Election Commission before a bench can hear the matter.

The registry raised administrative objections during initial scrutiny of the joint plea challenging the poll body's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The filing errors include a deficit of ₹220 in court fees, missing authorisation forms from nine petitioners, an illegible copy of Mallikarjun Kharge's identity proof, and formatting issues like small font sizes and page numbering gaps.

Routine Legal Vetting Holds Up Listing

Supreme Court registry rules require all incoming petitions to pass technical scrutiny before being assigned to a judicial bench. Objections raised by the registry are curable defects and do not reflect a judicial decision on the merits of the case.

Legal representatives for the opposition coalition are currently rectifying the paper defects and depositing the short court fee. Once the registry verifies the updated filings, it will assign a regular case number to enable the listing of the matter.

"The registry pointed out minor procedural oversights during filing. Our legal team is submitting the required vakalatnamas and cleared document copies. The petition will be resubmitted for listing shortly," a senior Congress leader said.

Opposition Demands Halt to Electoral Roll Revision

The joint petition names Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, and the Election Commission of India as respondents. Leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Supriya Sule, Sanjay Raut, and Saugata Roy joined as co-petitioners.

The legal action follows a protest march led by opposition MPs in central Delhi, demanding an immediate stop to the electoral roll revision. The petitioners have asked the top court to order ten specific remedies, including:

• A complete audit of the Special Intensive Revision process by an independent expert committee overseen by a retired Supreme Court judge.

• Submission of all official records concerning voter roll additions and deletions.

• An immediate stay on the SIR process until the judicial review concludes.

• Action against officials responsible for alleged irregularities in voter lists.

The opposition leaders turned to the court after Chief Justice Surya Kant declined a request for a personal meeting, citing sub judice rules while indicating that the formal judicial route remained open to all citizens.

Next Steps for the Legal Challenge

Under Supreme Court practice, petitioners receive time to cure filing defects raised by the registry. Once the legal team submits the complete authorisations, legible identity documents, and corrected fee payments, the registry will update the status on its online portal.

The top court will fix a hearing date after the legal team cures the procedural defects.