Opposition Marches to India's Supreme Court Over Voter Roll Revisions and CEC Resignation

Thousands of opposition supporters marched through central New Delhi on 12 October 2026 and filed a petition at the Supreme Court seeking an audit of voter deletions, safeguards against removals without notice, and a nationwide suspension of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The petition carries the signatures of opposition figures including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The court is expected to hear the matter on Tuesday.

The revisions, which began in Bihar last year ahead of state elections and have since expanded, removed more than 130 million names from the lists. Official figures break this down as roughly 28 million deceased, 63 million who relocated, and 30 million who could not be traced. Critics argue the process has disproportionately affected minorities, particularly Muslims, and benefits the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The Election Commission and the BJP reject the charge. They say the exercise removes duplicate, deceased, and fraudulent entries.

Protests have run almost daily this month. The youth-led Cockroach Janta Party has joined opposition parties in demanding that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign. On Monday, authorities closed several Delhi Metro stations and restricted traffic. Security forces deployed in large numbers. Earlier days saw detentions of organisers and protesters before they could assemble. Some demonstrators carried their own electoral forms and described family members whose names had been removed after receiving letters citing incorrect household details.

The immediate trigger was a report in The Indian Express that Kumar’s two deputies had raised internal concerns about the revision procedures, registration systems, and digital processes. Opposition parties have called for the use of pre-revision rolls, prior notice before any deletion, and a formal appeal mechanism. Congress MP Karti Chidambaram described the exercise as disenfranchising citizens of a fundamental right. Rahul Gandhi posted on X before one march: “Gyanesh, it’s done, bro. Time to resign.”

The Biju Janata Dal of Odisha joined an earlier opposition march, citing alleged irregularities in its own state, including Form 7 applications filed using booth-level officer credentials without their knowledge. The party maintains it remains equidistant from the NDA and the INDIA bloc. Other regional groups have signalled support. Farmer unions have held parallel protests in districts of Uttar Pradesh when marchers were blocked at borders.

Chief Justice Surya Kant declined a meeting with INDIA bloc leaders on the day of the march, stating that the doors of the Supreme Court remain open to all. The protests have drawn in student groups, activists, and parties that previously kept distance from the main opposition alliance. They represent one of the sharper political challenges to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his twelfth year in office. The government has defended the commission and called the allegations misleading.

The scale of the deletions exceeds the population of Japan. Whether the Supreme Court orders an interim halt or an independent audit will determine how the revisions proceed ahead of future national and state contests. For now, the capital remains under heightened security as the petition moves into the judicial calendar.