Full Breakdown
Controversy Over India’s Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event: Launch of the SIR and Emerging Legal Dispute
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, begun in June 2025, requires voters to prove that they or their parents appear on the 2002 roll. By the third phase, more than six crore names have been excluded from draft rolls in 19 states and Union Territories. Former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi said on September 23 2026 that the exercise is “illegal” and must be reversed, citing internal objections by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi reported by *The Indian Express*.
Background & Context
Electoral-roll revisions aim to remove “logical discrepancies” such as mismatched parent names or implausibly low age gaps. The last SIR was conducted in 2002 and took twice as long as the current effort. The revision coincides with a pending Delimitation Bill and a proposed constitutional amendment for 33 % women’s reservation, both slated for introduction around October 11 during Navratri. Critics argue the timing links the SIR to political calculations that could reshape constituency boundaries in favour of the ruling BJP.
Data & Statistics
- 13.8 crore voters removed, representing 14.6 % of the pre-SIR electorate of 94.7 crore.
- West Bengal: by April 6, 91 lakh voters (? 11.9 % of the state’s electorate) deleted.
- Maharashtra: over 2 crore names removed (? 21 % of its voter base).
- Delhi: 47.7 lakh deletions (? 33 % of the UT’s electorate).
- Appeals: 22.2 lakh filed; 93 % of tribunal decisions reinstated voters.
Official Statements & Responses
The Election Commission maintains that all orders issued have full legal sanction.
Criticism & Opposition
- Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress MP, warned that any illegal conduct in the SIR should lead to criminal prosecution of the Chief Election Commissioner, calling such acts “treason against the nation”.
- Jairam Ramesh, Congress communications chief, argued that the government is pushing the Delimitation Bill during Navratri without consulting smaller and northeastern states.
Verbatim Quotes
- “I have been saying from the beginning, about a year and a half ago, that it is highly undesirable. And today it has come out that it was illegal,” — Quraishi.
- “If he has done an illegal act, he has been fully aware that this is happening under his nose, his colleagues have brought it to his attention, he has ignored it and intentionally allowed an unfair election to take place, he should be criminally prosecuted just like any other criminal, and he should be tried for treason,” — Priyanka Gandhi.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Sources diverge on the legality of the SIR. The Supreme Court’s May ruling affirms the Commission’s authority, yet former CEC Quraishi and the two Election Commissioners label specific decisions as “unauthorised and illegal.” No public list of which decisions were unanimous, majority-based, or minority-overridden has been released, leaving a transparency gap that critics demand be filled.
What’s Next
The government plans to introduce the Delimitation Bill and the women-reservation amendment around October 11, pending parliamentary approval. The Supreme Court is expected to hear further challenges to the SIR, and final electoral rolls for the ongoing third phase are slated for publication by November.
