India's Supreme Court has demanded accountability from the government and the senior election body concerning a controversial exercise that has resulted in the deletion of tens of millions of voters from the electoral roll. This has prompted mass protests across the country.
On Monday, the Supreme Court issued notices to Narendra Modi's government, the Election Commission of India (ECI), and its head, Gyanesh Kumar, seeking clear and transparent answers regarding concerns about the voter list revision. The ECI claims the exercise, known as the special intensive revision (SIR), is intended to remove duplicate, dead, ineligible names, and "illegal infiltrators."
However, 130 million names have reportedly been removed so far, leading to accusations that the revision targets minorities. Opposition parties, student groups, and the youth-led Cockroach movement have demanded Kumar's resignation, accusing him of overseeing an attack on India's democracy. Protests have taken place in recent days, with hundreds detained in Delhi over the weekend.
The controversy gained widespread attention after a report in the Indian Express newspaper revealed multiple irregularities in the process. The two petitions taken up by the Supreme Court on Monday questioned the ECI's credibility and called for an independent inquiry into Kumar's decisions regarding the SIR process. Another hearing in the cases is scheduled for next week.