CJI Surya Kant-led bench to pronounce judgment on SIR of electoral rolls today

The Supreme Court will deliver its verdict on May 27 regarding petitions challenging the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Petitioners argue the exercise could disenfranchise genuine voters by requiring proof of ancestral linkage to names in the 2002/2003 rolls.

New Delhi: In a significant judgment to be delivered on Wednesday, the Supreme Court will decide a batch of petitions challenging the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) decision to undertake a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi is scheduled to pronounce its verdict on May 27 after reserving judgment in the matter earlier this year, following extensive hearings.

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The petitions challenge the legality of the SIR exercise undertaken by the poll body, contending that the revision process exceeds the powers conferred upon the ECI under Article 326 of the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the rules framed thereunder.

The controversy primarily centres around the ECI’s requirement that voters whose names were absent from the 2002 electoral rolls — or the 2003 rolls in certain states — must establish ancestral linkage to a person whose name appeared in those electoral rolls.

The petitioner’s side had argued before the apex court that the condition could potentially disenfranchise genuine voters, particularly marginalised and migrant populations who may not possess documentary proof tracing their ancestry to earlier electoral records.

Over the course of the proceedings, the Supreme Court issued interim directions designed to promote transparency and mitigate hardship among voters impacted by the SIR exercise across various states and union territories (UTs).

The poll body had initially identified 11 documents for verification purposes. However, the apex court later directed the inclusion of Aadhaar as an additional document for the SIR process.

Most of the petitions were filed in June last year after the ECI decided to conduct an SIR in Bihar.

The exercise was subsequently extended to multiple states and UTs, including West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The poll body defended the exercise before the apex court, contending that the revision was aimed at ensuring the purity of electoral rolls and preventing duplication or inclusion of ineligible voters. After hearing the parties at length, the CJI Surya Kant-led Bench reserved its verdict on January 29.