The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday upheld the Election Commission of India’s special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, rejecting the challenge that the exercise was beyond the poll body’s powers.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said the exercise is traceable to Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, read with Article 324 of the Constitution, and does not conflict with the RP Act or the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
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#WATCH | Delhi: Petitioner and Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay says, "Today, the Supreme Court has delivered its verdict regarding the SIR. The Supreme Court has affirmed that the entire process of the SIR is valid. It has been stated that conducting the SIR falls within the purview of… https://t.co/1B94nBxFRv pic.twitter.com/0e2VqoaWSQ
— ANI (@ANI) May 27, 2026
Fair elections, the court says, begin with a tidy roll
The court said the case turned on more than the mechanics of polling.
It held that “free and fair elections do not rest merely upon the mechanics of polling” and that they depend on the integrity, accuracy, and purity of the electoral roll. In the judgment, the bench noted that Bihar’s last intensive revision was in 2003 and pointed to the passage of more than two decades, rapid urbanization, and large-scale migration as reasons the Election Commission had cited for undertaking a fresh special intensive revision.
The court underlined that democracy does not depend only on polling day. Free and fair elections, it said, also rely on clean and accurate electoral rolls that ensure only eligible voters are included.
On the citizenship question
The court drew a clear distinction between electoral eligibility and citizenship status.
The bench said the Election Commission is empowered to carry out a limited inquiry into citizenship for the purpose of deciding whether a person should be included in the rolls.
But such an inquiry does not amount to a final determination of citizenship.
NDTV quoted the court as saying, "If a citizen does not appear on the electoral roll, that does not mean the citizen was unable to prove his citizenship but shows the inability of the Election Commission to verify citizenship.”
#WATCH | On the Supreme Court upholding ECI's decision to undertake SIR of voter rolls that started in Bihar, TMC MP Saugata Roy says, “Whatever the apex court says is the law. We didn’t say that SIR was illegitimate, we said it was misused. SIR was not conducted properly in… pic.twitter.com/hAhxLDfofk
— ANI (@ANI) May 27, 2026
No quick exits from the roll, the court insists
The judgment also said that if the Commission is not satisfied that a person meets the statutory conditions for inclusion, it may decline enrollment or proceed with deletion strictly in accordance with law.
But it added that such action affects only electoral consequences and does not divest a person of citizenship claims or foreclose a decision by the competent authority under the Citizenship Act.
The court said the Commission would be bound to refer such cases to the appropriate authority if needed.
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Today, 27 May 2026, the Supreme Court delivered one of the most closely watched judgments on India’s voter verification process — the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
— LawChakra (@LawChakra) May 27, 2026
And the headline is clear:
The Election Commission has won the legal battle.
A bench led by CJI Surya Kant… pic.twitter.com/cKyUydAwTb
Procedural safeguards remain the order of the day
With protections like notice, hearing, and reasoned rulings for contested deletions, the judgment said that the exercise was intended to increase the accuracy and completeness of the rolls.
Disposing of the batch of petitions, the court said the revised process is proportionate, supported by procedural safeguards, and remains open to judicial review.
