Supreme Court To Hear Rahul Gandhi’s Petition Demanding SIT Probe Into Alleged Voter List Manipulation

The Supreme Court will hear a petition on October 13. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi filed the petition seeking a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into alleged voter list manipulation.

Supreme Court lawyer Rohit Pandey submitted the petition.

The plea highlights claims of large-scale irregularities in the electoral rolls during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the Bengaluru Central constituency.

The petition asks the court to form an SIT led by a retired Supreme Court judge.

The team will investigate the alleged discrepancies and ensure accountability in preparing and maintaining voter lists.

Call for Electoral Transparency

The petition urges the court to stop any further amendments or finalisation of voter lists. It asks the court to keep the stay in place until the SIT completes its inquiry and an independent audit takes place.

It argues that such steps are necessary to maintain the integrity of the electoral process and prevent any undue influence on voters’ rights.

Additionally, the plea urges the Election Commission to issue binding directions that guarantee transparency, accountability and honesty in the preparation, maintenance and publication of electoral rolls.

It emphasises the need for mechanisms to detect and prevent duplicate or fake entries and to ensure voter lists are accessible, machine-readable and compliant with OCR (Optical Character Recognition) standards.

Furthermore, the petition states, it would allow proper verification and public scrutiny.

The petition stresses that the electoral rolls should include only eligible voters. It alleges that irregularities have compromised this fundamental principle.

It also points out that such actions violate several constitutional provisions, including Article 324 (supervision of the Election Commission), Article 326 (universal adult suffrage), Article 14 (equality before the law) and Article 21 (protection of life and personal liberty).

According to the petition, the alleged manipulation undermines citizens’ democratic rights and compromises the fairness of the electoral process. It calls on the Supreme Court to ensure that the integrity of voter lists is upheld and that the rights to equal participation and transparent elections are fully protected.

The case has drawn significant attention as it directly touches upon the principles of electoral fairness, transparency and the protection of fundamental democratic rights in India.

The hearing on October 13 will determine whether the court will direct the formation of an SIT to investigate these claims.