INDIA bloc petitions Supreme Court against Election Commission’s SIR; TMC faction plans Kolkata march

The Opposition’s campaign against the Election Commission of India (ECI) moved to the Supreme Court and to the streets of Kolkata this week, with 11 INDIA bloc leaders filing a petition against the Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and a Trinamool Congress faction planning a march on 13 October demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

Petition in the Supreme Court

The writ petition, titled Rahul Gandhi v. Election Commission of India, was filed on 12 October through Advocate-on-Record S Prasanna, according to LiveLaw. Besides Rahul Gandhi, the petitioners include Mallikarjun Kharge, Saugata Roy, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Sanjay Raut, M A Baby, D Raja, Mahua Majhi, Supriya Sule and E T Mohammed Basheer. The respondents are the ECI, CEC Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.

According to LiveLaw and The Federal, the reliefs sought include:

• An interim direction suspending the ongoing SIR across states
• An audit of SIR deletions by a committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge
• Notice and a hearing before any voter’s name is deleted
• Booth-wise publication of deleted names, with reasons, and a restoration mechanism
• Production of files and minutes on SIR decisions, including the 24 June 2025 decision to launch the exercise

Reports differ on when the petition will be heard. LiveLaw and The Federal said related SIR matters were scheduled for Tuesday, 13 October, and that the petition may come up with them. The Hindi daily Prabhat Khabar reported that the petitions against the CEC would be heard together on 27 October; The Daily Rostrum could not independently confirm that date. In his letter to the Opposition leaders, CJI Surya Kant wrote, “You have my assurance that any such petition shall be heard at the earliest possible opportunity,” according to The Federal.

Kolkata march

A Trinamool Congress faction led by Mamata Banerjee planned a march from Rajabazar to Park Circus in Kolkata on 13 October, demanding the CEC’s resignation, The Statesman and National Herald reported. National Herald put the start time at 2 pm. Both reports said it was unclear whether Kolkata Police would grant permission and whether Banerjee, who was in Delhi, would attend.

“We do not know whether the police will grant permission for the rally,” Trinamool leader Subhashis Chakraborty said, according to National Herald. The state BJP described the rally as a “deliberate attempt to disturb the festive atmosphere” ahead of Durga Puja, according to The Statesman.

Commission’s position

None of the reports cited here carried a fresh response from the Election Commission to the petition or the protests. The Commission and the BJP have rejected the Opposition’s charge that the revision benefits the ruling party, BBC News reported.

Sources: LiveLaw, The Federal, The Statesman, National Herald, Prabhat Khabar, BBC News (via AOL)