Supreme Court Set to Hear Opposition Plea on Voter Rolls as Protests Spread

UPDATE - follow-up to Anti-CEC protest LIVE | Supreme Court likely to hear Rahul Gandhi, INDIA bloc leaders' plea against SIR today: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a joint petition filed by Opposition leaders led by Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, seeking full disclosure of records from Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi concerning the special intensive revision that has deleted about 13 crore voters across India.

Court and Legal Battles

Indian Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chib approached the Delhi High Court to challenge the police decision to withdraw Jantar Mantar as a protest site. Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court agreed to hear a plea to stop a fresh protest called by Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke at Connaught Place Central Park for October 16, following the custody of party members Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das. Detainees from October 10 to 12 protests also filed petitions in the Supreme Court alleging police excesses and demanding an independent inquiry, CCTV preservation, and return of their belongings. Additionally, Kerala Police registered a zero FIR over the alleged assault on NSUI activist Athira Vijayan in Delhi during demonstrations against CEC Gyanesh Kumar.

Actions and Reactions

Abhijeet Dipke called for a 'Lehra Do Tiranga' gathering at Central Park on October 16 at 5 p.m. In Mumbai, police issued a notice to American national and Bollywood actor Imran Khan, directing him to leave India by October 28 for violating the Immigration and Foreigners Act after he took part in an October 10 protest demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. Congress general secretary Sachin Pilot targeted the Election Commission in an interview, demanding the CEC's resignation and comparing polls to a match without a fair umpire, while Telangana BJP President N. Ramchander Rao defended moving protests away from Jantar Mantar due to its proximity to vital offices. Separately, singer Mary Millben and Abhijeet Dipke clashed online over alleged U.S. funding of the CJP, prompting a dismissal from Congress MP Pramod Tiwari.

Context

These developments unfold amid widespread demonstrations across multiple cities regarding voter roll revisions and police actions against protesters. The legal challenges reflect rising tensions between political opposition groups and law enforcement authorities over public assembly rights and election oversight.