SC registry flags 14 defects in Rahul Gandhi’s plea against SIR

New Delhi: The Supreme Court registry has identified 14 defects in a petition filed by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and 10 other INDIA bloc leaders against the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The objections include the naming of individuals as respondents, the omission of a previous court judgment and missing vakalatnamas, or authorisations for legal representation, from nine petitioners. The registry also found that the identity card of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge was illegible.

Other issues concern poorly readable documents, unclear text and discrepancies in the accompanying papers. The petitioners have also been asked to address a shortfall of Rs 220 in court fees. Under the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, these deficiencies must be corrected before the case can be listed for hearing.

The petition alleges widespread voter deletions and irregularities in the electoral roll revision process. The Election Commission, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi have been named as respondents.

The filing came on Monday, following a protest march by INDIA bloc leaders towards the Supreme Court seeking Kumar’s resignation over alleged electoral irregularities.

Gandhi had earlier said Chief Justice of India Surya Kant advised opposition leaders to submit a formal petition after they sought an appointment to raise concerns about the SIR exercise.

With IANS inputs