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 | Oct 07, 2025 | 5:08 PM*
The Supreme Court has ruled that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar falls exclusively under the domain of the Election Commission of India (ECI). This directive came in response to a request asking the ECI to notify the bench regarding plans to conduct SIR in five additional states.
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.” The bench clearly indicated that any judicial intervention in the SIR process would amount to undue interference.
### Concerns Over Transparency and Voter Deletions
The court was hearing a petition that challenged the SIR process. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the petitioners, raised serious transparency concerns, arguing that many people were not informed about the deletion of their names from the electoral rolls. He stated, “None of the 3.66 lakh people whose names were deleted received any notice.”
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the Association for Democratic Reforms, also highlighted the lack of transparency in removing voters. He pointed out that approximately 4.7 million names were deleted nationally, raising questions about the adequacy of the notification process.
### Election Commission’s Defense
Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the Election Commission, defended the process. He stated that people were indeed informed about deletions, and that draft and final electoral lists were shared with political parties. Following the SIR in Bihar, the final electoral rolls now contain nearly 7.42 crore names after about 68 lakh deletions and 21 lakh additions during the claims and objections period.
### Supreme Court Requests Detailed Information
The bench asked petitioners to submit a list of voters who were reportedly not informed about their deletions and who wish to appeal. The court remarked, “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 hearing is scheduled to continue on Thursday, upcoming after the Election Commission announced a two-phase polling schedule for the Bihar Assembly elections in November.
### Election Commission to Conduct SIR Nationwide
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar informed on Monday that the ECI has decided to conduct a Special Intensive Revision of voter lists across the entire country after the Bihar Assembly elections conclude.
He said, “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.”
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*Stay tuned for updates on this developing story and other election-related news.*
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