The Supreme Court Registry has identified 14 technical and procedural defects in a joint petition filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and 10 other senior INDIA bloc leaders against India’s Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and the Election Commission of India (ECI). As a result, the highly anticipated hearing scheduled for Tuesday (October 13, 2026) was postponed.
Indian news daily Hindustan Times confirmed that legal counsel representing the petitioners have moved to rectify the clerical errors and requested the apex court to re-list the matter for hearing on Wednesday (October 14).
14 Deficiencies Identified by Court Registry: The Supreme Court registry noted that several mandatory filing compliance norms were unmet. Defects included a minor deficit of ₹220 in court fee payments, an illegible photocopy of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s national ID card, and the absence of executed Vakalatnamas (power of attorney documents) for 9 out of the 11 petitioning leaders.
Core Allegations Against ECI & CEC: Opposition leaders led by Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that CEC Gyanesh Kumar unilaterally initiated the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in June 2025 without comprehensive multi-member concurrence. The petition demands an independent judicial inquiry into alleged electoral irregularities and seeks an immediate stay on the SIR process pending the probe.
Respondents and Street Protests: The petition names the Election Commission of India, CEC Gyanesh Kumar, and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi as respondents. On Monday, opposition leaders led a “March for Democracy” in New Delhi toward the Supreme Court; however, police barricaded and halted the procession approximately 600 meters from the court premises, after which top leaders submitted the petition copy.
