SIR ‘prerogative’ of EC, directive to them is interference: SC
**SIR ‘Prerogative’ of Election Commission, Directive to Them Is Interference: Supreme Court**
*By Snehil Singh | October 7, 2025, 5:08 PM*
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**Supreme Court affirms Election Commission’s exclusive authority over Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls**
The Supreme Court has ruled that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar falls exclusively within the jurisdiction of the Election Commission of India (ECI). This ruling came in response to inquiries about when the ECI planned to conduct SIR in five additional states.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi emphasized, “Conducting SIR is the prerogative and exclusive domain of the Election Commission. If we come in between, this would be interfering.”
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**Transparency concerns raised over voter deletions**
The Court was hearing a petition challenging the SIR process, where petitioners expressed concerns about the removal of voters’ names from the rolls without proper notification.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the petitioners, argued that many individuals were left uninformed about the deletion of their names. He stated, “None of the 3.66 lakh people whose names were deleted received any notice.”
Similarly, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the Association for Democratic Reforms, highlighted transparency issues. He pointed out that 4.7 million names were removed during the revision, raising questions about the adequacy of notifications to affected voters.
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**Election Commission defends its process**
Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the Election Commission, defended the EC’s actions, stating that affected individuals were informed about deletions. He added that copies of both the draft and final voters’ lists were provided to political parties for scrutiny.
Following the SIR process in Bihar, the final electoral rolls now contain nearly 7.42 crore names. Approximately 68 lakh names were deleted, with about 21 lakh names added back after the claims and objections period.
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**Supreme Court seeks detailed information from petitioners**
The bench asked the petitioners to submit a list of voters who claim they were not informed about their names’ deletion and wish to appeal. The Court remarked on the importance of understanding the system on the ground level rather than relying solely on information from headquarters.
“We need to understand how the system works. They won’t provide information from the headquarters. They have to verify at ground level. The question is, who are we doing this for? Why aren’t people coming forward?” the bench observed.
The hearing is scheduled to continue on Thursday, following the Election Commission’s announcement of two-phase polling for the Bihar Assembly elections in November.
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**Election Commission announces pan-India SIR post-Bihar elections**
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar confirmed that the Election Commission has decided to conduct the Special Intensive Revision of voter lists across the entire country after the Bihar Assembly elections conclude.
“The Election Commission has already taken a decision to conduct a pan-India SIR in every state and union territory. It is a work in progress. The EC will decide on the dates and make a formal announcement,” he said during a press conference.
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*Stay tuned for updates on the ongoing hearing and preparations for the pan-India electoral roll revision.*
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/politics/sir-prerogative-of-ec-directive-to-them-is-interference-sc/story
