Major Verdict for Poll Panel: SC Says ECI Can Exclude Voters Under SIR, Free & Fair Polls Must Be Ensured.

Supreme Court Clears Election Commission’s SIR Drive, Says Power to Revise Voter Lists ‘Intact’

New Delhi: In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR)* of electoral rolls, dismissing multiple petitions challenging the process.

What the court said:

ECI’s powers intact* A bench comprising *Chief Justice Suryakant* and *Justice Joymalya Bagchi* observed, “There is no flaw in this process and it is the Election Commission’s prerogative.

Legal procedure followed: The bench noted that the ECI had “followed the entire legal procedure, and the process will continue across the country.”

3Right to exclude voters: The court clarified, The Election Commission retains the right to refuse inclusion of voters,”while stressing that “elections must be free and fair.”

What was the dispute about?

Petitioners had challenged the legal validity of the SIR, arguing that under Article 326 of the Constitution* and the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the revision exercise exceeded the ECI’s powers.

The controversy centered on an ECI condition requiring voters whose names were not in the 2002 or 2003 electoral rolls to prove their lineage to someone listed in those rolls. Petitioners argued this could _“disenfranchise genuine voters, especially backward and migrant populations who may lack documents to trace ancestry through old voter records.

SC’s interim directions during hearing:

The ECI had initially prescribed 11 documents for verification.

The Supreme Court later directed that *Aadhaar be included as an additional document* in the SIR process.

.The court issued interim directions to reduce difficulties for affected voters and ensure transparency.

June 2025: The ECI decided to conduct SIR in Bihar.

The process was later extended to several states/UTs including *West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu

-ECI’s defence: The Commission told the court the revision aimed to “ensure the purity of electoral rolls and avoid duplicate registrations or inclusion of ineligible voters.”

Timeline: After lengthy hearings earlier this year, the bench headed by CJI Suryakant had reserved its judgment on January 29, 2026. The final verdict was delivered on Wednesday.