Gyanesh Kumar, Poll Panel Get Supreme Court Notices Over Rahul Gandhi's Petition

The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notices to the Election Commission of India (ECI), Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and the other two commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, over a petition filed by Congress MP and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi on October 12. The writ petition sought an examination of Gyanesh Kumar's actions during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, which reportedly left millions of people without the right to vote.

"We are issuing notice ... Tagging with pending cases. But we would like to ask one of the petitioners about his conduct," the bench said, according to news agency PTI.

During the hearing, some lawyers objected to the manner in which the petition was submitted. On October 12, a delegation of Opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, alongside Rahul Gandhi, marched in Delhi to the Supreme Court premises to file the petition.

I’d like to thank every single person who came out today for this protest. I'd also like to thank the millions of people who showed support in their own way at 3pm. Thank you to the leaders of INDIA bloc, all the workers of the Congress party and workers of the INDIA bloc. Today was a very important day because we needed to show the government that the people of India are not going to be intimidated. You cannot beat us, threaten us, frighten us. We will not accept being bullied. I was wondering where the cowards of the RSS who were beating the young children day before yesterday were. Where were those people? Because I didn’t see them. When we are standing there and when the people of India are standing there, why don’t you come out? Why don’t you wear your little scarves and come out and see what happens? Because you’re essentially, like the Prime Minister of India, bullies. You cannot stand up. You can only use power to fight. So, it’s very heartening to see what happened. I’m proud of everybody. Everybody worked like a team. As I said in my press conference, there are no parallel protests. It’s one protest, and it’s a protest where everybody is standing together. Every single person is going to stand against these killers of our Constitution, these killers of our democracy. And we’re not going to back down. I’d also like to thank everybody from civil society organisations who came, supported us. We value your support, and we love all of you. Thank you all for coming out and defending the idea of India, the idea of the Constitution, the idea of our democracy. I’m extremely proud of every single person who came out on the streets. Thank you. आज के इस विरोध प्रदर्शन में शामिल होने वाले हर एक व्यक्ति का मैं दिल से धन्यवाद करना चाहता हूँ। उन करोड़ों लोगों का भी धन्यवाद, जिन्होंने दोपहर 3 बजे अपने-अपने तरीके से इस आंदोलन को समर्थन दिया। INDIA गठबंधन के नेताओं, कांग्रेस पार्टी के सभी कार्यकर्ताओं और INDIA गठबंधन के तमाम कार्यकर्ताओं का भी बहुत-बहुत धन्यवाद। आज का दिन बेहद महत्वपूर्ण था, क्योंकि हमें सरकार को यह दिखाना था कि भारत की जनता डरने वाली नहीं है। आप हमें मारिए, धमकाइए, डराने की कोशिश कीजिए, लेकिन हम डरने वाले नहीं हैं। हम आपकी गुंडागर्दी बर्दाश्त नहीं करेंगे। मैं सोच रहा था कि RSS के वो कायर लोग कहाँ थे, जो परसों हमारे युवा साथियों को पीट रहे थे? कहाँ थे वो लोग? आज तो मुझे उनमें से कोई दिखाई नहीं दिया। जब हम वहाँ खड़े हैं, जब देश की जनता वहाँ खड़ी है, तो तुम बाहर क्यों नहीं आते? अपनी छोटी-छोटी गमछियाँ पहनकर क्यों नहीं बाहर आते हो और देखते हो कि क्या होता है? क्योंकि तुम भी देश के प्रधानमंत्री की तरह सिर्फ़ गुंडागर्दी करना जानते हो। तुममें सामने आकर खड़े होने की हिम्मत नहीं है। तुम सिर्फ़ सत्ता और ताक़त के दम पर लड़ सकते हो। इसलिए आज जो कुछ हुआ, उसे देखकर बहुत खुशी होती है। मुझे आप सभी पर गर्व है। सबने एक टीम की तरह काम किया। जैसा कि मैंने अपनी प्रेस कॉन्फ्रेंस में कहा था, ये अलग-अलग प्रदर्शन नहीं हैं। यह एक ही आंदोलन है, जिसमें हम सब एक साथ खड़े हैं। हममें से हर एक व्यक्ति संविधान के इन हत्यारों, हमारे लोकतंत्र को कुचलने वालों के ख़िलाफ़ खड़ा होगा। और हम एक कदम भी पीछे नहीं हटेंगे। मैं उन सभी सिविल सोसाइटी संगठनों का भी दिल से धन्यवाद करना चाहता हूँ, जो आज हमारे साथ आए और जिन्होंने हमारा समर्थन किया। आपके समर्थन की हम कद्र करते हैं। हम आप सभी से मोहब्बत करते हैं। भारत की सोच, हमारे संविधान के विचार और हमारे लोकतंत्र की रक्षा के लिए आज सड़कों पर उतरने वाले हर व्यक्ति का धन्यवाद। मुझे उन सभी लोगों पर बेहद गर्व है, जो आज सड़कों पर उतरे। बहुत-बहुत धन्यवाद 🙏 : नेता विपक्ष श्री @RahulGandhi

— Congress (@INCIndia) October 12, 2026

However, the advocate-on-record and the legal team present at the Supreme Court registry had submitted the petition on behalf of Rahul Gandhi, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and other leaders as petitioners in accordance with the prescribed protocols, before the rally could arrive. When the Opposition leaders and their supporters reached the premises, the crowd created a commotion on the campus.

A plea against their march to the apex court was also taken up. Following this, the bench issued notices to Gandhi, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and others. Taking note of the matter, the bench said, "Nobody can browbeat judiciary. We are not sitting in ivory towers," the media agency added. 

On October 10, Congress leaders wrote to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, seeking a meeting to discuss the functioning of the poll panel amid growing questions over the ECI's role. Turning down the request, CJI Kant urged Gandhi to file a petition instead, saying that convening a meeting to discuss matters already pending for hearing would contravene the principle of separation of powers and be "incompatible with established ethics and judicial propriety".

Here is a copy of CJI Shri Surya Kant's letter to Congress President & LoP in Rajya Sabha Shri @kharge and LoP in Lok Sabha Shri @RahulGandhi. https://t.co/n76NmufJ9P

— Congress (@INCIndia) October 12, 2026

What The Opposition's Petition Says

The Opposition's petition raised several allegations concerning the functioning of the Election Commission during the implementation of the SIR exercise.

The petition read: "The present Petition arises from serious allegations concerning the functioning of the Election Commission of India during the implementation of the SIR, including the alleged exercise of the Commission's collective powers by the Chief Election Commissioner without the knowledge, approval or concurrence of the other Election Commissioners; the absence of a recorded decision of the Commission authorising the nationwide SIR; the unlawful modification of the statutory Form 6 without amendment of the applicable Rules; the centralised and opaque functioning of the ECINET and ERONET electoral-roll databases; and the large-scale exclusion of electors without adequate notice, hearing or an effective mechanism for restoration."

Meanwhile, the court also issued notices to the Centre and others on various pleas concerning the Election Commission filed by leaders, including Asaduddin Owaisi.