14 defects in plea filed by Rahul Gandhi, opposition leaders, shortfall in court fee

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Registry has pointed 14 errors in a joint petition filed by leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders. The defects include a shortfall of Rs220 in court fees, the absence of authorisation forms signed by nine petitioners, and an unclear photocopy of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s identity card.

The plea was filed jointly by Rahul Gandhi and ten other opposition leaders on Monday. The Election Commission of India, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi have been named as respondents in the plea.

The petitioners have been directed to rectify the defects and resubmit the petition. The petition has not yet been listed for hearing, and the Registry has also indicated that it will not be taken up along with the cases scheduled for Tuesday.

The petition seeks the appointment of an independent committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge and comprising technical experts and other eminent citizens to audit changes to electoral rolls within a specified timeframe. It also seeks an interim stay on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process presently underway across the state.

Rahul Gandhi and the opposition leaders had initially planned to march to the Supreme Court and submit the petition in person. However, by the time the march reached the vicinity of the Supreme Court, the Registry’s filing hours were nearing their end. The petition was then filed online.