India’s Supreme Court ordered the government and the national election body on Monday to explain decisions linked to a large-scale revision of voter rolls that prompted accusations of wrongdoing.
Opposition parties and activists have organized protests and called for the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, head of the Election Commission of India (ECI), alleging that the revision had improperly removed millions of names from voter lists.
Critics have accused Kumar of acting at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
The ECI, the constitutional body responsible for conducting elections in the world’s largest democracy, has rejected allegations of wrongdoing.
On Monday, a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant issued notices to the government, the ECI and Kumar after hearing petitions challenging decisions linked to the voter list revision.
Another hearing is expected to be held next week.
One of the petitions sought a probe into ECI records to determine whether its decisions complied with constitutional requirements.
Protests have been held across several cities since a report last month by The Indian Express, which said two of the ECI’s three members had formally objected at least 14 times to key decisions linked to the voter roll revision.
“Newspaper reports may be 100% correct, partially correct or incorrect. We cannot pass an order on that basis today. We would definitely want their response. If we find there were instances where law wasn’t followed, we can undo it,” broadcaster NDTV quoted the bench as saying.
The ECI says the revision exercise, which started last year, is intended to identify fraudulently registered voters and prevent “foreign illegal immigrants” from voting.
Critics say the drive has disproportionately affected marginalized and minority communities, especially Muslims.
India’s main opposition Congress party has announced a protest march to the Election Commission’s offices in New Delhi on Tuesday, to be followed by nationwide “Save Democracy” rallies.
Among those joining the protests are supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a satirical political movement that emerged online in May and succeeded in its campaign to oust the then education minister.
The group has called for a “mass mobilization” in the capital on Saturday.
Police have maintained a heavy presence around the government-designated protest area near New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, and dozens of demonstrators were briefly detained over the weekend.