SIR Row: Supreme Court Hears Rahul Gandhi's Plea as Election Commission Defends Gyanesh Kumar Today

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear petitions filed by Rahul Gandhi, Asaduddin Owaisi and 11 other opposition leaders challenging the Election Commission's decisions regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The petitions seek an immediate stay on the nationwide SIR exercise, disclosure of records of Election Commission meetings, judicial scrutiny of its decisions, an audit of voting data and details of names deleted from voter lists. The petitioners have also sought directions to prevent arbitrary voter deletions and requested that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar be kept away from his duties until the matter is decided. Before the hearing, the Election Commission filed its response, arguing that the petitions are based on a news report and maintaining that all SIR-related orders were passed unanimously. The Commission stated that Form 6 had not been altered and that voters' names cannot be added to or removed from electoral rolls without an order from the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO). It also clarified that internal file notings do not constitute final decisions and argued that the request to restrain the CEC from performing his duties is not maintainable. On the Form 6 controversy, the Commission explained that only the Central Government can amend the prescribed form, while the declaration required for SIR is a separate document. It said that online applications were separated into Form 6 and the declaration from October 21 to avoid confusion. Meanwhile, Congress MP Imran Masood questioned the Commission's defence, arguing that the central issue is voter deletion and alleged vote theft, rather than a dispute between election commissioners. The hearing is expected to focus on electoral transparency, voter rights and the legality of the SIR process.