Supreme Court Issues Notice on Voter Roll Revision Challenge

The Supreme Court of India issued notice on October 15 to opposition leaders and election authorities over a challenge to the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, bringing the dispute before the court without ruling on the petition’s allegations or requests for relief. The petition was filed by Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders. The bench, led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and including Justice Joymalya Bagchi, also said it would ask one of the petitioners about their conduct at the next hearing. The court did not identify the petitioner or specify when that hearing would take place in the reported proceedings. The notices seek responses from the Election Commission of India, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, the central government and the Delhi government. The court also directed that the new petition be tagged with existing cases challenging the revision, according to an account of the hearing. The petitioners allege that the revision process raises concerns about voter-roll deletions and modifications and could affect eligible citizens’ ability to register and vote.