SC backs Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls

Opposition leaders protest outside the Parliament against the SIR exercise, in 2025. PIC/X/@NewsNowJK

Delivering a major victory for the Election Commission, the Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld its power to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls and said the exercise "breathes life" into the constitutional mandate for fair elections.

The bench headed by CJI Surya Kant held that the exercise advances the "constitutional imperative of free and fair elections". Disposing of a batch of petitions challenging the SIR exercise in Bihar, the apex court held that deletion from the voter list does not amount to a legal declaration that an individual is not a citizen. The top court agreed with the EC's grounds for the SIR.

The bench examined three questions - whether the EC has the power to conduct an exercise like SIR, whether the inquiry under the SIR is founded on a legitimate purpose, and if the procedure adopted was contrary to or in violation of the provisions.

SIR to begin on June 30 in Delhi

The SIR of voters list will begin in Delhi with door-to-door visits by booth-level officers from June 30 in a transparent manner, Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ashok Kumar said on Wednesday. Around 25,000 personnel, including 13,000 BLOs, will take part in the mega exercise.

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