INDIA bloc's SC plea has 14 mistakes, a drama: Bihar BJP chief

Bihar BJP president Sanjay Saraogi slammed the INDIA bloc's Supreme Court petition on electoral roll revision, highlighting 14 procedural defects found by the court's registry and branding the move as 'political drama' concocted in defeat.

BJP slams INDIA bloc's 'flawed' petition

Bihar BJP president Sanjay Saraogi criticised the INDIA bloc over its petition in the Supreme Court (SC), alleging procedural errors in the filing and accusing the opposition of creating a political drama over the country's electoral system. Speaking to ANI, Saraogi said, "In that (the petition filed by the INDIA bloc in the Supreme Court), even the fees have not been fully paid yet; Mallikarjun Kharge's ID is also blurry. Fourteen basic mistakes have been found in it."

He further alleged that the party, which could not prepare its court file properly, was lecturing others on the country's electoral system. "Putting on a false drama on the street is easy, but courts require facts and evidence. This legal script concocted in the bitterness of defeat has fallen flat on its face on the very first day. At least file the application properly in court," he added.

SC Registry flags 14 defects in plea

His remark comes as the Supreme Court Registry on Tuesday flagged 14 defects in the writ petition filed by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and nine other INDIA bloc leaders challenging aspects of the Election Commission of India's (ECI's) ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Pertinently, the Registry has also sought clarification from the petitioners on why private parties — CEC Gyanesh Kumar and two ECs, SS Sandhu and Vivek Joshi have been arrayed as respondents in the writ petition. The objection has been raised in the context of the petition being filed under Article 32 of the Constitution.

Petitioners challenge ECI's powers

The petitioners have said they are approaching the Supreme Court over alleged irregularities in the exercise of the Election Commission’s powers during the SIR and have sought, among other reliefs, examination of the manner in which the poll panel took and implemented decisions relating to the electoral-roll revision.

The Registry, in its objections notified on October 12, has also asked the petitioners to correct the respondent’s name in the listing proforma, rectify the details of respondents at page 9 and provide the correct respondent number in the prayer.

The petition, filed on October 12, invokes Article 32 and alleges, among other things, that there were questions over the collective functioning of the Election Commission in relation to the SIR, the modification of Form 6, the functioning of ECINET and ERONET and the process by which electors were marked for deletion or restoration.

The petitioners have sought production of the ECI’s files, agendas, minutes, notings and objections relating to the disputed SIR decisions, an examination of whether the Commission acted in accordance 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 elector is deleted without notice and a reasonable opportunity of hearing.

The petition was filed after the Chief Justice of India’s written communication of October 11 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 through e-filing.

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