The Supreme Court on October 15 issued notice on the INDIA bloc’s petition against the special intensive revision of electoral rolls, three days after police stopped the leaders’ march and they filed the petition.

A notice is a procedural step. It obliges the Election Commission to respond, but it does not suspend the revision or accept the petitioners’ allegations of large-scale deletions, which remain allegations.

The bench also signalled that conduct matters in court. The Chief Justice said the court would ask one petitioner about his conduct, which LiveLaw links to remarks about the judges, while notices on a separate plea about protests in court premises point to the court’s concern about pressure from political processions.

The Election Commission’s reply and the records the petitioners want produced will be the next things to watch.

The petition, filed on October 12, seeks an independent audit of deletions and modifications in the electoral rolls and an interim suspension of the SIR, according to reports.

It also asks for disclosure of the Election Commission’s files, minutes and notings on disputed SIR decisions, and for the file on its June 24, 2025 decision to launch the SIR, according to LiveLaw and Business Today.

Advocate Nizam Pasha, appearing for Owaisi, asked that the Election Commission’s file noting and records on its SIR decision-making be produced before the next date, according to LiveLaw.

While issuing notice, the Chief Justice said orally that the court would also ask one of the petitioners about his conduct, according to LiveLaw.

The order, uploaded later, says the petition of petitioner number six is entertained on a provisional basis, subject to the petitioner explaining his conduct, according to LiveLaw, which identifies the petitioner as Sanjay Raut of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and links the remark to his comments about the Chief Justice and judges. The Sentinel says the explanation will be sought at the next hearing. The reports do not carry a response from the petitioner.

Supreme Court of India (file image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0