SC to Hear Plea on Bengaluru Central Voter Roll Manipulation on Oct. 13
Petition seeks SIT probe, halt on roll updates
New Delhi: The Supreme Court is likely to hear on October 13 a plea seeking the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by a former judge, to probe allegations of electoral roll manipulation in Bengaluru Central and other affected constituencies.
The plea, which also cited the August 7 press conference by Rahul Gandhi where he presented data supporting these claims, is tentatively listed for hearing on October 13.
It seeks directions from the apex court to halt any further revision or finalisation of electoral rolls until the completion of an independent audit and compliance with the court’s directions.
“The petitioner has observed grave irregularities in the electoral rolls of the Bengaluru Central Parliamentary Constituency (Mahadevapura Assembly segment), which warrant urgent consideration by this court,” the petition stated.
It further argued that judicial intervention was essential to uphold the sanctity of the Constitution, which could only be ensured through the court’s oversight.
The plea also cited data from Maharashtra, alleging that after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, about 39 lakh new voters were added to the rolls in just four months, compared with 50 lakh additions in the previous five years, raising questions about the Election Commission’s transparency in the voter registration process.
On August 7, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had alleged a “huge criminal fraud” in the electoral process through collusion between the BJP and the Election Commission, describing it as “vote chori,” or vote theft. Following his remarks, the chief electoral officers of Karnataka and Maharashtra asked him to share the names of electors he claimed were wrongly listed, along with a signed declaration for verification.
The petition has also urged the Supreme Court to issue binding guidelines to the Election Commission, ensuring transparency, accountability, and integrity in the preparation, maintenance, and publication of electoral rolls. It further sought directions for the Commission to publish voter rolls in accessible, machine-readable, and OCR-compliant formats to enable public verification and audit.