The INDIA bloc leaders’ SIR petition against the Election Commission will be heard by a three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Thursday, three days after it was filed.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court will on Thursday, October 15, hear the writ petition filed by Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and other INDIA bloc leaders challenging decisions taken by the Election Commission of India (ECI) during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and seeking an interim suspension of the exercise [Rahul Gandhi and Others v. Election Commission of India and Others].
The matter will come up before a Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana. Filed on October 12 through Advocate-on-Record S. Prasanna as Diary No. 64196 of 2026, the petition has since been registered as Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1351 of 2026.
Who has moved the Court
Besides Rahul Gandhi and Kharge, the petitioners include Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, among leaders of other INDIA bloc parties. The respondents are the ECI, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
Before the petition could be listed, the Supreme Court Registry had recorded 14 office objections on October 12, including a shortfall of Rs 220 in court fee and missing Vakalatnamas for several petitioners. Those defects had to be cured before the matter could be placed before a Bench.
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What the petitioners want
The petition questions the manner in which the Commission has taken decisions during the SIR, including voter deletions, changes to electoral databases and the modification of Form 6, the form used to register as a voter. It asks the Court to examine whether those decisions complied with Article 324 of the Constitution, Section 18 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, and the Supreme Court’s 1995 ruling in the T.N. Seshan case, and to quash any decision taken without lawful authority.
The reliefs sought include production of the Commission’s files, agendas, minutes, internal notings and any objections recorded by Commissioners Sandhu and Joshi; access logs from the ECINET and ERONET systems; an independent audit of deletions by a committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge; booth-wise publication of the names of deleted voters with reasons; no deletion without notice and a hearing; that the online Form 6 conform to the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960; and, in the interim, suspension of the SIR across all States.
A crowded SIR docket
The petition joins a series of SIR-related matters already before the Court. On October 5, a Bench led by the Chief Justice issued notice, without granting interim relief, on a petition by Rakesh Kumar Singh alleging that decisions were taken without the approval of Commissioners Sandhu and Joshi. Separately, the Court has advanced to October 28 the hearing of an application against the ECI’s direction that voters deleted from Delhi’s draft rolls apply afresh through Form 6 with a first-time voter declaration, and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has also moved the Court against the manner in which the SIR is being conducted. Whether the INDIA bloc petition will be heard with these matters is not yet known.
ALSO READ: Rahul Gandhi’s Supreme Court Plea On SIR Seeks Audit Panel, Poll Body Records And Interim Suspension
The allegations in the petition are the petitioners’ contentions and are yet to be tested. The Election Commission has not yet filed a response in this petition, and the Court has expressed no view on the merits.
Case Title: Rahul Gandhi and Others v. Election Commission of India and Others
Case No.: W.P.(C) No. 1351/2026 (Diary No. 64196/2026)
Bench: CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana
Hearing: October 15, 2026
Advocate-on-Record for petitioners: S. Prasanna
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SEO | keyword: INDIA bloc SIR petition, Rahul Gandhi SIR plea Supreme Court, suspension of SIR | title: INDIA Bloc SIR Petition: Supreme Court To Hear Rahul Gandhi, Kharge Plea On October 15 | desc: INDIA bloc SIR petition by Rahul Gandhi, Kharge and others against ECI decisions will be heard on October 15 by a Bench led by CJI Surya Kant. | slug: india-bloc-sir-petition | alt: Supreme Court of India building, where the INDIA bloc SIR petition against the Election Commission will be heard