Supreme Court to Deliver Verdict on Electoral Roll Revision Challenge Today

May 27, 2026 : The Supreme Court is set to pronounce its judgment today on a batch of petitions challenging the legality of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi will deliver the verdict after reserving judgment earlier this year following detailed hearings.

The petitions question the legality of the SIR exercise, arguing that the revision process goes beyond the powers granted to the ECI under Article 326 of the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the rules framed under it.

The dispute mainly concerns the ECI’s requirement that voters whose names were missing from the 2002 electoral rolls, or the 2003 rolls in certain states, must prove ancestral linkage to a person whose name appeared in those earlier electoral records.

Petitioners argued before the apex court that such a condition could disenfranchise genuine voters, especially migrants, economically weaker sections, and marginalised communities who may lack documents tracing their ancestry to older voter lists.

During the proceedings, the Supreme Court issued interim directions to improve transparency and reduce difficulties faced by voters affected by the SIR process across several states and Union Territories.

Initially, the ECI had prescribed 11 documents for verification. The Supreme Court later directed the inclusion of Aadhaar as an additional document for the verification exercise.

Most petitions were filed in June last year after the ECI launched the SIR exercise in Bihar. The revision was later expanded to several other states and Union Territories, including West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Defending the exercise, the ECI told the court that the revision was necessary to maintain the purity of electoral rolls and prevent duplication or inclusion of ineligible voters.

The Bench led by the CJI had reserved its verdict on January 29 after concluding hearings in the matter.