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Supreme Court notice on INDIA bloc’s SIR petition: Bench, respondents, prayers and open questions

The Supreme Court on October 15 issued notice to the Election Commission on the petition by Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders challenging the special intensive revision of electoral rolls, and said it would ask one petitioner about his conduct.

Supreme Court notice on INDIA bloc’s SIR petition: Bench, respondents, prayers and open questions
Supreme Court of India (file image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

On October 15, 2026, the Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notice on the INDIA bloc leaders’ petition challenging the special intensive revision of electoral rolls, according to LiveLaw and ANI.

The respondents are the Election Commission, the Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners, and the petition seeks an audit of deletions and disclosure of the Commission’s records.

The court said it would ask one petitioner about his conduct, and a next hearing date for this petition was not stated in the reports.

The petitioners’ allegations have not been decided by the court.

While issuing notice, the Chief Justice said orally that the court would also ask one of the petitioners about his conduct, according to LiveLaw.

The order, uploaded later, says the petition of petitioner number six is entertained on a provisional basis, subject to the petitioner explaining his conduct, according to LiveLaw, which identifies the petitioner as Sanjay Raut of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and links the remark to his comments about the Chief Justice and judges. The Sentinel says the explanation will be sought at the next hearing. The reports do not carry a response from the petitioner.

Reports also say the court issued notices to Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders on a separate petition seeking restrictions on political protests within court premises, following the October 12 march, and quote the Chief Justice as saying that the court cannot be intimidated by political processions, according to the reports.

On October 12, police stopped the INDIA bloc’s march towards the court on Bhagwan Dass Marg, and the leaders later filed the petition, according to PTI and Tribune reports.

The Supreme Court registry had flagged 14 defects in the petition, according to Open magazine.

On October 5, the Court had issued notice on separate petitions seeking the suspension of the Chief Election Commissioner over alleged unilateral SIR decisions but declined an interim order to suspend him, according to LiveLaw.

Supreme Court of India (file image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

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