Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and nine INDIA Bloc leaders have filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission of India's (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Apart from Congress leaders Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, Saugata Roy (Trinamool Congress-Mamata Banerjee), Akhilesh Yadav (Samajwadi Party), Tejashwi Prasad Yadav (RJD), Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena UBT), MA Baby (CPI(M)), D Raja (CPI), Mahua Majhi (JMM), Supriya Sule (NCP Sharad Pawar) and ET Muhammed Basheer (IUML) are the other petitioners.

The petition arrays the Election Commission of India, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and other Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi as the respondents.

The petition comes amid the Congress-led Opposition's protests against the SIR exercise and seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the alleged irregularities in the voters' roll revision.

Ahead of filing the petition, Gandhi, along with Congress and other Opposition leaders, led a march towards the Supreme Court on Monday (October 12). Although the plan was that the Opposition Leader will present the petition himself, since the Supreme Court Registry was about to close before the march, the petition was filed through lawyers.

Reliefs sought

The petition seeks the production of records relating to the SIR exercise, judicial scrutiny of the decision-making process, and directions to ensure transparency and compliance with electoral laws. The key prayers include:

- Disclosure of files, minutes, notings and objections recorded by Election Commissioners on disputed SIR decisions, along with ECINET and ERONET access logs.

- Production of the complete file relating to the ECI's June 24, 2025 decision to launch the SIR.

- Examination of whether the decisions complied with Article 324 of the Constitution, Section 18 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, and the principles laid down in the T.N. Seshan judgment. The petition seeks quashing of decisions taken without lawful authority.

- Appropriate action against those responsible for breaches, including under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.

- A direction that every SIR-related decision be taken collectively and duly minuted in accordance with Section 18 of the 2023 Act while the case remains pending.

- A direction to ensure that the online Form 6 conforms to the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, unless the Rules are amended.

- Constitution of a committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to audit SIR deletions and access to electoral-roll databases, and review EVM processes against global best practices.

- Booth-wise publication of deleted voters' names, along with reasons for deletion and age- and gender-wise breakdowns, as well as a functional mechanism for restoration of names.

- A direction that no voter's name be deleted without notice and an opportunity of hearing. The petition also seeks to allow eligible persons in Punjab and other poll-bound States to apply for inclusion until the last date for such applications.

- Suspension of the SIR exercise across all States pending adjudication of the petition.

Opposition leaders had sought appointment with the CJI before

The development comes a day after Chief Justice of India Surya Kant declined Gandhi's request for an appointment to discuss issues relating to the SIR exercise and the functioning of the Election Commission.

Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, had sought a meeting with the CJI to submit a memorandum raising concerns over the SIR process and demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The CJI declined the request, stating that the issues sought to be raised were already pending before the Supreme Court. He also conveyed that the Court could not interfere with the functioning of the government on its administrative side, while clarifying that the leaders were free to approach the Court on its judicial side for appropriate relief.

Similar matters concerning the SIR exercise are scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court on Tuesday. The CJI had indicated that any petition filed by the Opposition leaders could also be considered along with the pending matters.

Further details of the prayers and grounds raised in Gandhi's writ petition are awaited.

The petition has been filed through AoR S Prasanna

Case : Rahul Gandhi v. Election Commission of India Diary No. 64196/2026