Supreme Court Seeks Replies on SIR Challenge and March

The Supreme Court on October 15 issued notices in two related but separate matters: opposition leaders’ challenge to the Election Commission’s electoral-roll revision and a petition concerning an October 12 march to the court. The notices seek responses; they are not rulings on the allegations or requests for relief. In the first case, a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed the Election Commission of India, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi to respond to the challenge to the Special Intensive Revision, or SIR. The court directed that the petition be heard alongside existing cases contesting the revision. The reported proceedings also said notices were issued to other authorities, including the central and Delhi governments. The petition, filed by Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders, alleges large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the SIR process. Those claims have not been established by the court.