Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi has filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The petition comes amid the Congress-led Opposition’s protests against the revision exercise and its demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The petition is filed through Advocate-on-Record S. Prasanna.

The filing follows the INDIA bloc’s march towards the Supreme Court on Monday, October 12, during which Opposition leaders sought to raise concerns over alleged irregularities in the electoral roll revision process and demanded accountability from the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The development comes after Chief Justice of India Surya Kant declined a request by Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for a meeting to submit a memorandum concerning the SIR exercise and the functioning of the Election Commission. The CJI reportedly stated that the issues were already pending before the Court and that the leaders were free to seek appropriate relief through judicial proceedings.

The controversy surrounding the SIR exercise has also involved the modified Form 6 used for voter enrolment. The Supreme Court recently clarified that it had not approved the modified form.