Opposition’s Supreme Court petition on SIR: What it asks, what it alleges, what is not yet known

What it asks: an audit of deletions by a committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, and an interim suspension of the SIR.

What it alleges: large-scale voter deletions and irregularities, which are the petitioners’ allegations.

Who filed: Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Saugata Roy, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav and other leaders.

Not yet known: the Election Commission’s response and whether the case is listed for Tuesday.

Background: police stopped the leaders’ march on Bhagwan Dass Marg.

The petitioners include Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Roy, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, according to the reports.

Leaders of the Shiv Sena (UBT), CPI(M), CPI, JMM, NCP (SP) and the Indian Union Muslim League are also among the petitioners, according to Inkl’s report.

The petition alleges large-scale deletions of voters and irregularities in the revision. These are the petitioners’ allegations and the reports do not say they were verified.

It asks for an independent committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to audit deletions and modifications in the electoral roll databases, according to the same reports.

It also seeks an interim suspension of the ongoing SIR until the matter is decided, and seeks action against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, according to the reports.

The reports published on Monday did not describe the Election Commission’s response to the petition.

India TV reported that the court could take up the petition on Tuesday, October 13, but the reports did not confirm that the case had been listed.

The petition was filed after the leaders marched from Connaught Place towards the Supreme Court, according to The Tribune’s live blog.

Police stopped the march at a barricade on Bhagwan Dass Marg, more than a kilometre from the court, according to PTI reports quoted in the same live blog.

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