THE SUPREME COURT TODAY refused to entertain a public interest litigation (‘PIL’) seeking setting up of a Special Investigation Team (‘SIT’), headed by a retired judge, to probe into Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of large-scale voter roll manipulation in Karnataka before 2024 Lok Sabha elections to engineer the outcome of the electoral process.
Refusing to entertain the PIL, a Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi observed that the petitioner was free to approach the Election Commission of India (‘ECI’) instead. “We have heard the petitioner’s counsel. We are not inclined to entertain this petition, which is purportedly filed in the public interest. The petitioner may pursue the matter before the ECI, if so advised,” the Bench said.
The petition was filed by advocate and Congress member Rohit Pandey, who relied on statements made by Rahul Gandhi at a press conference on August 7, where the Congress leader alleged widespread tampering of voter lists in Mahadevapura and accused the Election Commission of India (‘ECI’) of colluding with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (‘BJP’) to facilitate large-scale voter fraud during the 2024 Lok Sabha
According to the petition, Gandhi’s remarks pointed to a “systematic dilution of genuine voters” through duplication, fake entries, and the inclusion of names linked to non-existent or commercial addresses. The plea alleged that such manipulations, if true, strike at the core of “one person, one vote” principle enshrined under Articles 325 and 326 of the Constitution.
According to the petition, Gandhi’s remarks pointed to a “systematic dilution of genuine voters” through duplication, fake entries, and the inclusion of names linked to non-existent or commercial addresses.
The petitioner urged the Court to direct the ECI to establish binding guidelines to ensure greater transparency and accountability in the preparation, revision, and publication of electoral rolls. He also sought a temporary halt on any further revision or finalisation of rolls until an independent audit was completed.
Citing alleged documents and screenshots presented at Gandhi’s press conference, the plea said several entries appeared in multiple polling parts, while others were linked to non-existent or commercial premises. “Independent citizen verification reportedly confirmed duplicate and bogus entries,” the petition claimed.
Pandey said that after verifying the publicly available government data, he found enough prima facie evidence to suggest a coordinated attempt to distort lawful votes and sought urgent apex court intervention to preserve electoral integrity.
In August, Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP and certain private agencies of manipulating electoral databases in Karnataka ahead of elections, alleging that thousands of genuine voters were deleted or replaced. The ECI has since maintained that the revision process was conducted in accordance with law and that any grievances could be addressed through the Commission’s redressal mechanism.