Delhi Police Registers FIRs Over Opposition March; SC Registry Flags 14 Defects in INDIA Bloc’ Plea

Delhi Police has registered multiple FIRs at the Barakhamba Road and Tilak Marg police stations in connection with the Opposition’s protest on Monday. According to police, the cases relate to alleged barricade-breaking and graffiti on roads during the march.

INDIA bloc leaders and supporters, led by Rahul Gandhi, marched along Barakhamba Road towards the Supreme Court on Monday.

Afterwards, 11 opposition leaders filed a petition in the apex court challenging the Election Commission of India’s decisions on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The Supreme Court Registry has since flagged 14 defects in the petition.

The writ petition was filed by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and nine other leaders.

They are Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, CPI(M) MP MA Baby, CPI leader D Raja, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MP Mahua Majhi, NCP (SCP) MP Supriya Sule and Indian Union Muslim League MP ET Mohammed Basheer.

WHAT THE PETITION SAYS

Filed on October 12 under Article 32 of the Constitution, the petition alleges irregularities in the way the Election Commission used its powers during the SIR. It raises questions about the poll panel’s collective functioning, the modification of Form 6, the working of ECINET and ERONET, and the process by which voters were marked for deletion or restoration.

The petitioners have sought production of the Commission’s files, agendas, minutes, notings and objections on the disputed SIR decisions.

They also want an examination of whether the Commission acted in line with Article 324 and Section 18 of the 2023 Act, an independent audit of electoral-roll databases and deletions, and directions to ensure that no voter is deleted without notice and a reasonable chance to be heard.

The petition was filed after a written communication from the Chief Justice of India on October 11. It indicated that matters raising similar issues were listed for hearing on October 13 and that the petitioners could file their plea on October 12, either physically or by e-filing.

THE REGISTRY’S OBJECTIONS

In objections notified on October 12, the Registry asked the petitioners to explain why Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners SS Sandhu and Vivek Joshi have been named as respondents. It raised the point in the context of the petition being filed under Article 32.

The Registry also pointed out that the petition lacks the required “similarity paragraph”, a statement under the Supreme Court Rules on whether the petitioners have approached the court earlier against the same order.

It recorded “SIMILARITY PARA NOT FOUND” twice. The petitioners must also correct the respondent’s name in the listing proforma, fix the respondent details on page 9 and give the correct respondent number in the prayer.

On annexures, the Registry directed the petitioners to attach a copy of the June 24, 2025 decision cited in prayer (a). It noted that the date of Annexure P-2 and the case number of Annexure P-5 do not match the petition, and asked for a pen drive for Annexure P-6.

The filing is also short on documents. Vakalatnamas are missing for petitioners 3 to 11, and a clear copy of petitioner 2’s identity card is required. The petitioners must deposit Rs 220 more as court fee.

On presentation, the Registry asked for colour copies of pages 57 and 64. It flagged dim or illegible pages, small font, missing pages, a vernacular page and pagination errors, which are to be identified after the final printout is taken.

RAHUL GANDHI’S RESPONSE

Rahul Gandhi invited opposition MPs for high tea at his residence on Tuesday, a day after the march. He earlier thanked opposition leaders for their support and said the fight would continue.

“We needed to show the government that the people of India are not going to be intimidated,” he said. “You cannot beat us, threaten us, frighten us. We will not accept being bullied.”

He said there are no parallel protests, only “one protest” in which everyone stands together, and added: “We’re not going to back down.”

With inputs from ANI