SC junks PIL for probe into alleged voter roll tampering raised by Rahul Gandhi

THe sublime margaret court on mon dismissed a public stake judicial proceeding (PIL), seeking a probe by a court-monitored special investigation team (SIT) led by a retired judge into allegations of electoral roll manipulation made by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in Bengaluru Central and other constituencies.A bench of justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said that the petitioner was at liberty to raise the issue with the Election Commission of India (ECI), if deemed appropriate.“We have heard the petitioner’s counsel. We are not inclined to entertain the petition, which is purportedly filed in public interest. The petitioner may pursue before ECI, if so advised,” said the bench in its brief order.The counsel appearing for the PIL petitioner, advocate Rohit Pandey, argued that although a representation was made before the ECI, it has not been considered and no action was taken. But the bench remained unimpressed with the plea, and asked Pandey to avail of appropriate remedies under the law.Pandey’s petition had urged the top court to halt any further revision or finalisation of electoral rolls by the Election Commission of India (ECI) until an independent audit is conducted and directions are issued to ensure transparency. It also sought a directive to the ECI to publish electoral rolls in accessible, machine-readable and OCR-compliant formats to facilitate public verification and scrutiny.Referring to Gandhi’s press conference on August 7, the plea recalled his allegations of a “huge criminal fraud” in elections through “collusion between the BJP and the Election Commission.” Gandhi had claimed that an analysis of voter rolls in a Karnataka constituency revealed large-scale manipulation, describing “vote chori (vote theft)” as “an atom bomb on our democracy.”Invoking the Supreme Court’s consistent view that free and fair elections are part of the Constitution’s basic structure, the petition contended that this fundamental principle “cannot be diluted or subverted by any legislative or executive action.”Following Gandhi’s claims, the chief electoral officers of Karnataka and Maharashtra had asked him to share details of the allegedly “wrong” electors along with a signed declaration so that poll authorities could initiate “necessary proceedings.” Subsequently, chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar warned on August 17 that Gandhi must either file an affidavit affirming his allegations within seven days or risk rendering his claims baseless.Also Read: In Bihar, INDIA bloc fights a perception battlePandey’s petition had further urged the Supreme Court to lay down binding guidelines for the Commission to ensure greater transparency, accountability and integrity in preparing and maintaining electoral rolls, including systems to detect and prevent duplicate or fictitious entries.“The petitioner has observed grave irregularities in the electoral rolls of Bengaluru Central Parliamentary Constituency (Mahadevapura Assembly Constituency), which, on the face of it, warrant urgent consideration by this court,” it said.Citing discrepancies from other states, the PIL pointed out that in Maharashtra, between the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the run-up to the Assembly polls, nearly 39 lakh new voters were added to the rolls-- a sharp spike compared to only around 50 lakh additions over the previous five years.“Such a sudden and disproportionate increase raises a serious question on the transparency of the Election Commission in the process of adding names to the voter list,” it had added.