Our Bureau
New Delhi
The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the constitutional validity of the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, clearing the way for the voter list exercise in several other states. A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi, delivered the verdict on petitions challenging the legality of the SIR conducted in Bihar.
The Court ruled that the SIR exercise is “legally tenable” and cannot be struck down as ultra vires simply because it differs from the ordinary revision process. The judgment affirms the Election Commission’s power under Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, to revise electoral rolls. The bench said the exercise “breathes new life into the Representation of the People Act” and is aimed at strengthening the integrity of elections.
The SIR exercise became necessary due to factors like urban migration, demographic changes, and concerns about inaccuracies in electoral rolls that had not undergone intensive revision for nearly two decades, the Election Commission had argued. The Court affirmed that the list of 11 specified documents for voter identification remains entirely valid. Regarding Aadhaar, which was accepted as the twelfth document.
The verdict comes after an interim order in August 2025 directing the ECI to publish a district-wise list of over 65 lakh electors deleted from the draft roll of Bihar, along with reasons for each deletion. The Court had also ordered the Commission to allow voters to submit inclusion claims online or physically with Aadhaar or other accepted documents. This landmark judgment settles key legal questions around the SIR and reinforces the Election Commission’s authority to maintain accurate voter lists.
