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Polity & Governance May 27, 2026 5 min read Daily brief · #3 of 43

SIR ruling: Supreme Court tells Election Commission to report deleted names, sets stage for citizenship test

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant upheld the constitutional validity of the Election Commission of India's Special Intensive Revision (S...

GS Paper II (Indian Constitution Governance Elections)

What Happened

  • A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant upheld the constitutional validity of the Election Commission of India's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, ruling the exercise was legally sustainable and aimed at preserving the integrity and accuracy of the voter list.
  • The Supreme Court held that the SIR exercise was not unconstitutional merely because it differed procedurally from routine electoral roll revisions, and that measures adopted were not manifestly excessive or disproportionate.
  • Around 65 lakh names were removed from Bihar's draft electoral rolls during the SIR — comprising approximately 22 lakh declared deceased, 36 lakh permanently shifted or not found, and 7 lakh found to be duplicates.
  • The court categorically stated that the Election Commission's role is limited to determining voter eligibility; it cannot determine citizenship — which can only be adjudicated by a legally competent authority under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
  • The ECI was directed to refer all cases where citizenship is in doubt to the competent authority within four weeks; if those individuals are determined to be citizens, they must be re-included in the electoral roll.

Static Topic Bridges

Article 324 — Plenary Powers of the Election Commission

Article 324(1) of the Constitution vests the superintendence, direction, and control of the preparation of electoral rolls and the conduct of all elections to Parliament and State Legislatures in the Election Commission of India. The ECI is a constitutional body, and its powers under Article 324 are considered plenary — meaning they operate to fill any voids in electoral law not covered by legislation.

  • Article 324(1): Superintendence, direction, and control of all elections vested in the ECI.
  • Article 324(2): The ECI consists of the Chief Election Commissioner and such number of other Election Commissioners as the President may fix.
  • The Chief Election Commissioner can only be removed in the manner of a Supreme Court judge (Article 324(5)), providing institutional independence.
  • In Mohinder Singh Gill v. Chief Election Commissioner (1978), the Supreme Court held that ECI's powers under Article 324 are plenary and fill gaps in electoral legislation — and are subject to judicial review only when fundamental rights are infringed or natural justice is violated.

Connection to this news: The Court's upholding of the SIR squarely relies on Article 324(1)'s plenary grant to the ECI to revise electoral rolls, while simultaneously confining the ECI to eligibility determination and not citizenship determination.

Special Intensive Revision (SIR) — Electoral Roll Revision Framework

Electoral rolls are prepared and revised under the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (RPA, 1950) and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. The ECI may direct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of any constituency's electoral roll at any time for reasons on record — distinct from Summary Revision (routine annual update) and Intensive Revision (door-to-door enumeration). The qualifying date for the Bihar SIR was set as 1 July 2025.

  • Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 empowers the ECI to revise electoral rolls.
  • Eligibility: A person must be at least 18 years old as of the qualifying date and ordinarily resident in the constituency.
  • No person may be registered in more than one constituency (Section 17, RPA 1950).
  • Grounds for deletion: death, permanent shift, duplication, or ineligibility based on citizenship status.

Connection to this news: The SIR's legitimacy was challenged as an "NRC-like" citizenship test; the Court rejected this framing, holding that removing ineligible voters is within the ECI's mandate, but citizenship determination belongs to authorities under the Citizenship Act, 1955.

Citizenship Act, 1955 — Citizenship Determination

Indian citizenship is governed by the Citizenship Act, 1955, enacted under Article 11 of the Constitution which empowers Parliament to regulate the right of citizenship. Citizenship can be acquired by birth, descent, registration, or naturalisation. The determination of whether a person is a citizen is the exclusive domain of executive authorities designated under this Act — not the Election Commission.

  • Article 5–11 of the Constitution deals with citizenship at commencement; post-commencement citizenship is governed entirely by the Citizenship Act, 1955.
  • The Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Foreigners Tribunals (for border states) adjudicate on questions of foreign nationals.
  • Deleting a name from the electoral roll does not strip citizenship — the Court explicitly held this.

Connection to this news: The Court's direction that ECI must refer citizenship-doubtful cases to competent authorities within four weeks reaffirms the constitutional separation: voter eligibility (ECI) versus citizenship status (executive/judicial bodies under the Citizenship Act, 1955).

Right to Vote — Constitutional and Statutory Status

The right to vote in India is a statutory right (not a fundamental right), created by the Representation of the People Act, 1951. However, the right to free and fair elections is part of the basic structure of the Constitution, as held in Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain (1975). Exclusion from an electoral roll is therefore a grave matter requiring procedural safeguards.

  • Right to vote: statutory right under Section 62, Representation of the People Act, 1951.
  • Free and fair elections: part of the basic structure doctrine (Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain, 1975).
  • The ECI's duty to maintain an accurate voter roll directly serves the constitutional mandate of free and fair elections.

Connection to this news: The Court balanced the right of eligible citizens to vote (accuracy through SIR) against the risk of wrongful deletion, mandating that citizenship queries be resolved by competent authorities with notice and hearing to the affected individual.

Key Facts & Data

  • Bihar SIR qualifying date: 1 July 2025
  • Total names removed from draft electoral rolls: approximately 65 lakh
  • 22 lakh: declared deceased
  • 36 lakh: permanently shifted or not found
  • 7 lakh: duplicate entries
  • Bench: Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi, and Vipul M Pancholi
  • Petitioner: Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and others
  • ECI directed to refer citizenship-doubtful cases to competent authority within 4 weeks
  • Governing law: Article 324(1) Constitution of India; Representation of the People Act, 1950; Registration of Electors Rules, 1960; Citizenship Act, 1955
  • Landmark precedent cited: Mohinder Singh Gill v. Chief Election Commissioner (1978) — ECI powers under Article 324 are plenary
On this page
  1. What Happened
  2. Static Topic Bridges
  3. Article 324 — Plenary Powers of the Election Commission
  4. Special Intensive Revision (SIR) — Electoral Roll Revision Framework
  5. Citizenship Act, 1955 — Citizenship Determination
  6. Right to Vote — Constitutional and Statutory Status
  7. Key Facts & Data
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