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SIR of electoral rolls in the remaining 22 states, Union Territories to start in April, says EC

February 20, 2026 5 min read Polity & Governance GS2
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What Happened

  • The Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed 22 states and Union Territories to begin preparatory work for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, with the exercise scheduled to commence from April 2026
  • States and UTs covered include Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Ladakh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu
  • The ECI had already completed SIR in another set of 12 states and UTs in an earlier phase
  • Under SIR, all registered electors must submit enumeration forms; certain categories of voters must provide additional documentation to verify eligibility, including citizenship
  • The purpose is to update rolls for rapid urbanisation, migration, newly eligible voters, unreported deaths, and removal of illegal immigrants from voter lists
  • The ECI last conducted a similar nationwide exercise in the early 2000s; since then it has relied on annual summary revisions and pre-election special summary revisions

Static Topic Bridges

Electoral Roll Revision: Constitutional and Statutory Framework

The preparation and revision of electoral rolls is governed primarily by Article 324 of the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.

  • Article 324: vests in the Election Commission superintendence, direction, and control of preparation of electoral rolls and conduct of elections to Parliament, state legislatures, and the offices of President and Vice-President
  • Representation of the People Act (RPA), 1950, Section 21: the ECI may at any time, for reasons to be recorded, direct a special revision of the electoral roll for any constituency; the existing roll continues to be valid until the special revision is completed
  • RPA 1950, Section 19: a person is entitled to be registered in the electoral roll of a constituency if they are a citizen of India, not less than 18 years of age (26th Amendment, 1988 reduced voting age from 21 to 18), and ordinarily resident in the constituency
  • Qualifying date: January 1 of the year in which the roll is prepared (for most revisions)
  • National Voter's Day: January 25 (ECI's founding anniversary) — marks the addition of new voters
  • Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT): linked to electronic voting; the electoral roll drives who is entitled to vote

Connection to this news: The SIR is a power explicitly granted under Section 21, RPA 1950 — the ECI exercises it at its discretion. The current exercise, covering 22 states, is exceptional in scale and reflects the Commission's assessment that the accumulated discrepancies in rolls require a comprehensive door-to-door enumeration, not just a summary update.

The SIR's mandate to include citizenship verification during enumeration has attracted attention given ongoing debates about the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019.

  • Voter eligibility: only Indian citizens are entitled to vote; Section 16 of RPA 1950 disqualifies non-citizens from registration
  • Foreigners illegally residing in a constituency may have been registered on electoral rolls due to inadequate verification in past summary revisions — particularly in border states (Assam, West Bengal, northeast states)
  • The National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam (finalised August 2019) was a separate exercise — not nationally applicable
  • Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003: provide for a National Population Register (NPR) and NRC at national level — not yet implemented
  • Difference between SIR and NRC: SIR specifically targets the electoral roll and is conducted under the ECI's authority under RPA 1950; an NRC would be a broader citizenship documentation exercise under the Ministry of Home Affairs
  • An SIR can remove names from electoral rolls where citizenship cannot be established, but does not determine citizenship for any other purpose

Connection to this news: The requirement for voters in certain categories to furnish citizenship documents during the SIR bridges electoral law and citizenship verification — without formally triggering the NRC process. This creates both policy significance (cleaning up rolls) and political sensitivity (fears of selective disenfranchisement).

Election Commission of India: Powers, Independence, and Accountability

The ECI is a constitutional body under Article 324 whose independence is protected by the provision that the Chief Election Commissioner can only be removed in the manner applicable to a Supreme Court judge (Article 324(5)).

  • Article 324(1): superintendence, direction, and control of elections vested in the ECI
  • Article 324(5): the CEC shall not be removed from office except in the like manner and on the like grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court; other Election Commissioners can be removed on the recommendation of the CEC
  • Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023: replaced the earlier executive appointment process; creates a selection committee comprising the PM, the Leader of the Opposition, and a Union Cabinet Minister (superseding the Supreme Court's direction in Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India (2023) that the CJI be part of the selection panel)
  • Model Code of Conduct (MCC): a voluntary instrument with no statutory force but enforced by the ECI's moral and constitutional authority
  • Electoral roll quality directly determines the legitimacy of election outcomes — an inflated or inaccurate roll undermines universal adult suffrage

Connection to this news: The SIR is an exercise of the ECI's core constitutional mandate under Article 324. Its credibility depends on the Commission's independence from executive influence — a timely question given the 2023 amendment to the appointment process.

Key Facts & Data

  • Exercise: Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls
  • Coverage (next phase): 22 states and Union Territories; starting April 2026
  • States included: Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Ladakh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, D&NH & DD
  • Earlier completed: 12 states and UTs
  • Last comparable nationwide exercise: early 2000s
  • RPA 1950, Section 21: ECI's authority to order special revision at any time
  • Article 324(5): CEC removable only like a Supreme Court judge
  • CEC Appointment Act, 2023: selection committee — PM + Leader of Opposition + Cabinet Minister
  • Voting age: 18 (reduced from 21 by the 61st Constitutional Amendment, 1988)
  • Section 16, RPA 1950: non-citizens disqualified from electoral registration