SC Rejects Plea Over Voter Fraud

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea seeking a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe, headed by a former judge, into alleged manipulation of electoral rolls in Bengaluru Central and other constituencies.A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi asked the petitioner to take up the matter with the Election Commission of India (ECI) instead.“We are not inclined to entertain the petition, which is purportedly filed in public interest. The petitioner may pursue his plea before the ECI, if so advised,” the court said.

The apex court also declined to fix a time limit for the ECI to decide on the plea, advising the petitioner to pursue appropriate legal remedies.Petitioner Rohit Pandey, a practicing advocate, said he had already filed a representation with the ECI, but it was not accepted.The petition had referred to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegation of a “huge criminal fraud” in voter lists through alleged collusion between the BJP and the Election Commission, which he described as “vote theft.” It also sought a stay on further revision or finalisation of electoral rolls until an independent audit was completed.Following Mr. Gandhi’s remarks, the chief electoral officers of Karnataka and Maharashtra had asked him to submit names of allegedly wrong entries and a signed declaration to enable verification.The petition further urged the court to issue binding guidelines to the ECI to ensure transparency and accountability in maintaining electoral rolls and to make the data available in machine-readable formats for public audit and verification.