Supreme Court issues notice to the Election Commission on Rahul Gandhi's plea and warns that no one can browbeat the judiciary; CJP marches in Delhi today
On Thursday the Supreme Court issued notice to the Election Commission of India and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on a plea by Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders against the SIR and voter deletions (Bar and Bench, Hindustan Times, Live Law). Hindustan Times says the plea was filed after the Chief Justice declined to meet Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge. The bench said nobody can browbeat the judiciary, in a rebuke of a protest march to the court (Mint, Hindustan Times). The court also issued notice to the Centre on denotifying Jantar Mantar as a protest site (Live Law and two others). NDMC closed Central Park in Connaught Place for 16 and 17 October ahead of today's CJP march (Mint), and Delhi Police told the High Court it would take all measures to control it.
Two things are being tested at once: whether the courts will examine the Commission's voter-roll exercise, and where protest is allowed in the capital. Both will shape how the opposition and the government campaign before the next elections.
If you live or work near Connaught Place, expect closures and heavy policing today and tomorrow. If you are a voter in one of the states where the rolls are being revised, check your name in the draft list when it is published.
The opposition says the SIR removes genuine voters and that the Commission has not been even-handed (The Hindu, Hindustan Times).
The BJP says the march was not political resistance or democratic dissent but the legitimisation of anarchy (The Hindu, quoting spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari).
Notice is the start, not a finding. Watch for the Commission's reply and the date of the next hearing. On the street, the test is whether today's march stays peaceful and whether the police numbers reported by one outlet turn out to be right.
DailyDrop India edition No. 12 · Morning · FRI., OCT. 16, 2026