Opposition leaders move SC for full disclosure of SIR records, seek suspension of exercise

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, along with other opposition party leaders, on Monday (October 12, 2026) urged the Supreme Court to seek full disclosure of the “files, programmes, minutes, notes and objections” recorded by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi (SIR) for a special intensive review that led to a very intensive review. 13 million voters from electoral rolls across India.

Mr Gandhi has sought a judicial review of Election Commission of India (ECI) records to verify whether Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar acted arbitrarily and unilaterally during the ongoing SIR.

The Congress leader said the petition highlights serious concerns regarding the integrity of the election process itself under the SIR. He argued that as a result of the SIR, the constitutional right of eligible citizens to be registered as voters and to exercise their right to vote was violated.

He sought an interim direction from the Supreme Court to suspend the SIR until the issues raised in the petition are heard and decided to protect the rights of eligible voters and preserve the integrity of the electoral process.

Anti-CEC line update October 12, 2026

“The right to vote belongs to every eligible citizen irrespective of political affiliation and its protection is a constitutional imperative that transcends party politics,” the petition represented by senior advocate AM Singhvi and filed through advocate Prasanna S. said.

CJI’s letter

The petition reproduced an extract from Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant’s reply to Mr Gandhi and Congress party co-founder and president Mallikarjun Kharge to their letter seeking a meeting on Monday (October 12, 2026). While the CJI declined the meeting, the chief justice pointed out that the pending petitions on the same issues would come up for hearing on Tuesday (October 13).

“If advised, you may file your petition on Monday (October 12), either physically at the Supreme Court of India, between 10:30 AM and 4:30 PM… I assure you that any such petition will be heard at the earliest possible opportunity in accordance with law,” the CJI letter promised. Mr. Gandhi said the petition was filed on the Chief Justice’s promise of an early hearing.

Mr Gandhi and other opposition leaders marched to the Supreme Court on Monday (October 12) even though their petition was technically filed at 4.37pm. They entered the Supreme Court registry, verified their documents with registry officials, and left. Their arrival took place in the presence of tight security and under stampede-like conditions with supporters raising slogans.

The petitioners, who also include Saugata Roy, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Sanjay Raut, MA Baby, D. Raja, Mahua Majhi, Supriya Sule and ET Mohammed Basheer — leaders of various political parties in the opposition bloc — asked the court to order the ECI to provide the June ruling on access to ECINET4 and ERONET225 records. start SIR.

Accusing the ECI and its three commissioners as respondents, the petition sought clarification regarding the modification of the online Form 6 available on ECINET from July 2026 by adding a statement about the presence of the applicant or his relatives in the earlier SIR voter list.

Independent panel

The petition demanded that the court set up an independent committee headed by a former Supreme Court judge to conduct an independent audit of the deletions and edits made during the SIR.

Mr Gandhi and other petitioners also urged the court to mandate the proposed independent committee to conduct a review of “decisions, policies, procedures, protocols, technical designs and architecture related to the use and deployment of electronic voting devices”.

The petitioners demanded that the ECI disclose in the booth the names of all voters deleted during the SIR, along with the reasons for each deletion and a gender- and age-wise breakdown of the deleted items, and provide an efficient and functional mechanism to restore the names of voters found eligible for inclusion in the electoral rolls.

They asked the court to ensure that eligible persons in Punjab and other states going to polls can apply for inclusion in the voters’ list till the last date allowed by law.

Published – 12 Oct 2026 17:36 IST