EC asserts authority over SIR timing, tells SC it has ‘complete discretion’ on electoral roll revisions

Seeking dismissal of the petition, the poll panel said “any direction to conduct a SIR at regular interval throughout the country would encroach upon the exclusive jurisdiction of the ECI”.

The poll panel pointed out that “under Article 324 of the Constitution of India, the superintendence, direction, and control of the preparation of electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections to Parliament and to the Legislature of every State are vested in the Election Commission of India”.

It added that the provision “forms the bedrock of the Election Commission’s plenary authority in all matters relating to the preparation of electoral rolls and conduct of elections”.

The ECI said it “is vested with constitutional as well as the statutory powers to oversee the preparation and revision of electoral rolls. These statutory powers include the authority to carry out either intensive revision or summary revision of the electoral roll, depending on the situation.”

The Commission added that “the enabling provisions under The Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules 1960 provide ECI powers to decide whether an intensive or summary revision is appropriate, based on prevailing circumstances.”

It further said that Section 21 of the Representation of People Act (RPA), 1950, provides for the preparation and revision of electoral rolls, and vests a discretion in the ECI to as regards the “timing of the revisional exercise” and added that “on a bare perusal of Section 21, it is apparent that the obligation to conduct a revision of the electoral roll is not couched within a timeline, but is a general obligation which is to be met before each general or Legislative Assembly election, or before each bye-election to fill a casual vacancy”.

The affidavit further said, “Pertinently, in accordance with sub-section (3) of Section 21, the ECI may at any time, for reasons to be recorded, direct a special revision of the electoral roll for any constituency or part of a constituency in such manner as it may think fit.”

Section 21 of the RPA must be read with Rule 25 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 (RER) which governs the exercise of revision and the manner in which it is to be conducted, it said, adding that, “on a bare perusal of Rule 25, it is further apparent that the decision to conduct a summary or an intensive revision of the electoral roll is left to the discretion of the ECI.”

The ECI said that pursuant to the statutory mandate, it “has complete discretion over the policy of revision to the exclusion of any other authority”.

The poll panel said it “is fully cognizant of its statutory responsibility to maintain the purity and integrity of the electoral rolls and, in exercise of its powers under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, has decided to conduct SIR in different States as envisaged under para 10 of the SIR Order dated 24.06.2025, the schedule for which is to be issued separately in due course”.

The Commission said that by the letter dated July 5, 2025, addressed to all chief electoral officers (CEOs) of states and Union Territories (except Bihar), it “has directed initiation of immediate pre-revision activities for the SIR of electoral rolls with reference to 01.01.2026 as the qualifying date”.

In continuation of this and to further strengthen and coordinate the preparatory measures for conducting the SIR on a nationwide basis, the Commission convened a conference of all CEOs of the states and Union Territories at New Delhi on September 10.