Supreme Court directs CCTV preservation and hears opposition plea over 13‑crore voter deletions

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 on Thursday, October 15, 2026, set a hearing for a joint petition led by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi that demands full disclosure of files, agendas, minutes and objections recorded by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which has removed about 13 crore voters nationwide. ## Petition Details Rahul Gandhi’s request focuses on the SIR process that critics say erased millions of names from the electoral roll. ## Legal Arguments Solicitor‑General Tushar Mehta, backed by senior advocates Gaurav Bhatia and Mahesh Jethmalani, accused the petitioners of creating courtroom disorder and asked for time to reply to senior advocate Indira Jaising’s separate plea on women journalists’ safety. He warned that some video clips presented as evidence could be AI‑generated. ## Protest Developments Indian Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chib has asked the Delhi High Court to overturn the police decision to strip Jantar Mantar of its protest‑site status. Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke announced a ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ rally at Central Park, Connaught Place on October 16 at 5 p.m., after party leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were sent to five‑day judicial custody for allegedly waving the Tricolour at Jantar Mantar. ## CCTV Preservation The bench ordered preservation of CCTV footage, including recordings from the Supreme Court premises on October 12. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal and senior advocate Arundhati Katju urged the court to make the footage available, citing assaults on lawyers and alleged harassment of women police officers and journalists. ## Context The petitions highlight growing concerns over electoral roll integrity, protest‑site rights and safety of media personnel, prompting the court to seek evidence and consider safeguards for future proceedings.