India's Supreme Court to hear petition on electoral rolls — ABC News Australia

India's Supreme Court in New Delhi is due to hear a petition on Tuesday concerning alleged violations during a nationwide revision of voter rolls. The hearing will take place amid the third day of protests in the capital. Opposition parties and supporters of the “Cockroach Party” movement are demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

As ABC News Australia reports, six major metro stations were closed in New Delhi on Monday and thousands of security personnel were deployed. Despite police barricades, protesters joined a march to the country's highest court. The procession was led by Rahul Gandhi of the opposition Indian National Congress party, who carried a copy of the constitution.

Petition on voter rolls

Protest participants oppose the removal of millions of names from voter rolls. According to the report, more than 130 million people were removed from the lists, including 28 million deceased people, 63 million people who changed their place of residence, and 30 million people who could not be located.

Critics argue that the revision of the rolls could benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party. The Election Commission of India denied violations and said that voters whose names were removed in error could register again.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

The petition, filed on Monday evening, concerns alleged violations during the revision of the rolls. Its authors are asking for an audit of the removals, safeguards against excluding voters without notification, hearings, and a temporary suspension of the procedure across the country.

New locations for rallies

New Delhi police banned rallies at Jantar Mantar, a long-standing protest venue, and designated three new locations. Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav said he would continue the protest and called the ban a defeat for the Bharatiya Janata Party government.

Monday's rally took place after mass detentions of activists in the capital over the weekend. Most of those detained, including three leaders of the “Cockroach Party” movement, were later released. Communist Party of India MP John Brittas said police treated him brutally during Sunday's demonstration.