New Delhi, Oct 5 (IANS) BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra on Monday hit back at Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his allegations concerning Form 6, the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, accusing him of spreading misleading information about the Supreme Court’s proceedings.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Patra said Gandhi had misrepresented the Supreme Court’s observations and wrongly suggested that the court had established that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had illegally and unilaterally altered Form 6 to benefit the BJP.

He said Gandhi had made the allegations in a post on X shortly after the Supreme Court hearing. According to Patra, Gandhi claimed that it had been established “without any doubt” that Kumar had illegally and unilaterally changed Form 6 and had misused his position to help the BJP. Gandhi also said that those responsible would have to be held accountable.

The BJP leader strongly rejected the interpretation, saying the Supreme Court had neither declared Form 6 illegal nor rejected it. He said the court had only made it clear that it had not approved any modified Form 6 and wanted to examine the official record to determine who had made the changes.

According to Patra, Chief Justice Surya Kant observed during the hearing that the court had not approved any changed Form 6 and that the record would have to be examined to establish who had made the modification. Patra said this observation could not be interpreted as a judicial finding that Form 6 itself was illegal.

The BJP leader also referred to the Election Commission’s September 26 press release, which stated that the declaration attached to Form 6 for the SIR exercise had been upheld by the Supreme Court. He said Gandhi was creating confusion by presenting the issue as though the entire Form 6 had been declared unlawful.

Rahul Gandhi, in his post on X, alleged that the Supreme Court proceedings had established that the Chief Election Commissioner had changed Form 6 illegally and unilaterally. He described the alleged change as further evidence of the misuse of the CEC’s position to help the BJP. Gandhi said that the CEC and others allegedly involved in what he described as an attack on democracy would have to be held accountable.

The BJP, however, argued that Gandhi’s interpretation went beyond what the Supreme Court had actually said during the hearing. Patra maintained that the court had not reached a final conclusion on who made the disputed changes or whether the changes were unlawful.

Patra also cited the Supreme Court’s May 27, 2026, judgment while explaining the Election Commission’s position on documentation for the SIR exercise. The BJP spokesperson argued that the Supreme Court judgment did not support such an interpretation.

Patra also disputed the allegation that the SIR decision had been taken unilaterally. He said the Bihar SIR order issued on June 24, 2025, was approved unanimously by all three Election Commissioners. According to Patra, the Election Commission itself had reiterated that position in its fact-check response.

Patra said the decision was taken collectively by the Commission and pointed to the public record surrounding the announcement as evidence that all three Election Commissioners had participated in the process.

He accused Gandhi of presenting the decision as the action of an individual when, according to the Election Commission's position cited by the BJP, it was a unanimous decision of the three-member Commission.

Patra also brought up Gandhi’s earlier criticism of the Supreme Court in connection with the Rafale fighter-jet controversy. He alleged that Gandhi had previously made incorrect claims about what the Supreme Court had said in the Rafale case and subsequently had to clarify his remarks before the court.

Patra argued that a similar pattern was emerging in the Form 6 controversy, with the Supreme Court’s observations being interpreted politically before the complete legal record had been examined.

He urged political leaders to study judgments and official documents carefully before making public allegations involving constitutional institutions.

Another issue raised by Patra was a claim that the Election Commission had withdrawn its September 26 press release concerning Form 6 and SIR.

Patra rejected the claim and said the press release had not been withdrawn. He said the Election Commission had issued a fact-check on the matter and that the September 26 communication remained part of the Commission’s public record.

According to Patra, reports suggesting that the press release had been withdrawn following the Supreme Court hearing were false. He accused Rahul Gandhi of attempting to create confusion and instability by making allegations against constitutional institutions.

He said political disagreements were legitimate but claimed that the Supreme Court and Election Commission should not be selectively cited or portrayed in ways that, according to the BJP, distorted their actual positions.