Rahul Gandhi, INDIA bloc leaders go to Supreme Court against Election Commission, CEC

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and leaders of the INDIA bloc have approached the Supreme Court with a joint petition that challenges the working of the Election Commission of India and its chief, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Gandhi is the lead petitioner, and the case is set to come up before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Tuesday.

The CJI took cognisance of the matter on his own and had the petition placed before him. He told the Registry to finish all formalities on the same day and to have any technical defect in the papers cured immediately. The Registry normally stops accepting filings at 4:30 pm, and Gandhi's legal team had asked for special permission to reach the court late and hand the papers over in person. Although e-filing is open at the Supreme Court around the clock, the team chose to submit physical copies in person given the weight of the case. Court records show the petition was lodged at 4.37 pm on October 12, 2026, under diary number 64196/2026, and its status is listed as pending.

Eleven leaders in all have signed on. Alongside Gandhi, the co-petitioners are Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav. The others include Sanjay Raut, Supriya Sule, Saugata Roy, D. Raja, M.A. Baby, Mahua Maji and E.T. Mohammed Basheer. One account describes them as leaders of 11 major Opposition parties. Advocate Prasanna S. is appearing for the petitioners.

The Election Commission of India is a respondent in the case, as are Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.

The CJI had said earlier that petitions filed by Monday evening would be taken up on Tuesday, which puts this one on the list for tomorrow. The court's official proceedings will confirm the listing.

Before going to court, INDIA bloc leaders led by Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi walked in a large march from Jantar Mantar to the Supreme Court in New Delhi. MPs and leaders from the Congress, the RJD and the Samajwadi Party joined it, along with student organisation members from across the country and a large number of lawyers. Gandhi described the event before it began, saying, "This march of ours is like Shiva's wedding procession." During the march, the Opposition questioned the role of the Chief Election Commissioner and again objected sharply to what it sees as a lack of transparency at the Commission.

According to sources, the petition raises doubts over the fairness and transparency of the poll body's functioning, and is said to cover alleged irregularities in recent elections, electoral rolls and the conduct of the election process. The full text has not been made public, so the precise grounds are not yet known. Gandhi has previously questioned the Commission's functioning and has made allegations of "vote chori" (vote theft). All eyes in political circles are now on tomorrow's hearing.