Supreme Court upholds Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls

The Supreme Court has upheld the Election Commission’s electoral roll revision exercise, calling it a step toward free and fair polls. However, concerns over large-scale deletions, implementation flaws, and possible voter exclusion continue to spark debate. Here’s a breakdown of the verdict and its implications.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday held that the Election Commission is empowered to conduct a limited scrutiny of citizenship status while preparing and revising electoral rolls. The top court, however, clarified that such scrutiny cannot amount to a final adjudication of citizenship, which remains the exclusive domain of central government authorities under the Citizenship Act. The observations on the effect of citizenship were made by a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant in the significant verdict upholding the Election Commission's (EC's) power to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls. The bench held that the EC has the authority to examine citizenship status only for the limited purpose of determining eligibility for the electoral rolls. "In view of the statutory requirement under Section 16 of the RP (Representation of the People) Act, the Commission, in the course of preparing or revising electoral rolls, is undoubtedly empowered to examine ...

The Supreme Court on 27 May, 2026 upheld the power of the Election Commission of India to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise of electoral rolls, saying that it “advances the constitutional imperative of free and fair elections”.

Delivering its verdict on a batch of pleas questioning the legality of the SIR exercise, the apex court identified three key questions for consideration. These included whether the ECI possessed the authority to conduct the revision, whether the inquiry pursued a legitimate objective while meeting the test of proportionality, and whether the procedure adopted was consistent with the statutory framework governing electoral rolls.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the power of the Election Commission of India to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise of electoral rolls, saying that it "advances the constitutional imperative of free and fair elections". It can't be said that the poll panel acted outside statutory powers by exercising SIR, observed a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant. "We are unable to conclude that the impugned exercise is a process resorted to solely for administrative convenience. On the contrary, we hold that the electoral SIR advances the constitutional imperative of free and fair elections," the bench said. The pleas challenging SIR claimed that the Election Commission does not have powers under Article 326 of the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Rules made under it to carry out SIR in a larger form. On January 29, the top court reserved its verdict on the pleas, including one filed by the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms ...

​​A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi pronounced the verdict on Wednesday after reserving judgment this year in January following extensive hearings in the matter. The petitions had challenged the legality of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise undertaken by the ECI, arguing that the process went beyond the powers granted to the poll body under Article 326 of the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the rules framed under it.