INDIA Bloc Marches to Supreme Court, Files Petition on Voter-Roll Revision

Synopsis

On Monday, opposition leaders walked two kilometres through barricaded central Delhi and filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court. They demand an independent investigation into alleged electoral-roll irregularities, resignation of Special Intensive Revision CEC Gyanesh Kumar and a suspension of the Special Intensive Revision. The Chief Justice refused to meet but said he would hold a hearing on Tuesday. The Election Commission and BJP have denied any manipulation, claiming that the exercise eliminates duplicate and ineligible names.

Opposition leaders, MPs and student activists made it through barricaded central Delhi on Monday to reach the Supreme Court. Next they did something that isn't normally done at that destination by the people on the streets:

They filed a case. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and 10 other INDIA bloc leaders moved a writ petition before the Supreme Court for an independent investigation into alleged electoral irregularities, a suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and a return to paper ballot, UNI reported.

A short march without a stop while under a tight cordon

The march set out from the Connaught Place–Barakhamba Road junction around 1.30pm and marched about two kilometres to reach the court, Business Standard reported. The entry/exit gates at six metro stations such as Janpath, Mandi House and Rajiv Chowk remained closed until 4 pm. Police also announced diversion at DDU Marg, ITO and Connaught Place.

Mr. Gandhi briefly rode through the crowd on an open bus holding up a copy of the Constitution, the Associated Press reported. Student groups walked side by side with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, said Bloomberg. Their demands were the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and a halt to the revisions.

Earlier in the day Mr. Gandhi had called the government as "a shelter for Mr. Kumar". He asked, why is Delhi jailed, why did people get stopped from going to the protest site.

A hearing was called but was not held

The Congress had sought a meeting with opposition leaders and presented it with the memorandum, but Chief Justice of India Surya Kant refused to meet them and accept the memorandum, according to PTI, which said it was on account of pending proceedings against SIR and CEC.

He is believed to have told them a petition filed Monday would be heard Tuesday with the pending cases. He also restated the Court's dedication to the fundamental rights.

The court has already become embroiled in what has happened over the weekend. On Sunday it instructed the Centre to continue running the Delhi Metro on its regular timetable and service of the internet uninterrupted, emphasising that restrictions need to meet the public-order requirements of Article 19(2). Business Standard also quoted the bench saying it would not deal with a new issue of Form 6 during the Bihar SIR hearing.

The denial and the numbers

The voter lists have been cut by more than 130 million names, according to the AP. The opposition parties have alleged that the changes are in favour of BJP. The BJP and Election Commission have denied any tampering and stated that the exercise is required to remove out the duplicate and ineligible entries.

Writ petition. A written petition to a constitutional court requesting an order to enforce a right. Such petitions are usually filed under Article 32 which allows the citizens to directly approach the Supreme Court with respect to fundamental rights.

What may be the issues the bench will be asked to address

The petition is more than a demand for the resignation that the protesters have called for. It calls for an independent investigation, a temporary halt to the SIR and a shift in the voting system. What portion of that the court will agree to look at will depend on Tuesday's listing.

The issue before the court will be more limited than the issue on the streets: not who is right about the rolls, but how far the court will delve into them.