- Why in news
- On 25 July 2026, the Law Ministry told the Lok Sabha that ECI's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is running in phases with safeguards against wrongful deletion. It cited the Supreme Court judgment of 27 May 2026 upholding the exercise.
- What it is
- Special Intensive Revision is an ECI exercise to rebuild electoral rolls through house-to-house enumeration by Booth Level Officers. It is meant to remove dead, shifted and duplicate entries and add eligible electors. It rests on the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and Article 324 of the Constitution.
- Phase I
- SIR was first held in Bihar before the 2025 State Assembly elections.
- Grounds for deletion
- Deletion is for death, permanent shifting, duplicate entries, or electors untraceable despite repeated visits.
- Claims and objections
- Draft rolls are published and a statutory period allows claims and objections through Forms 6, 7 and 8 before finalisation.
- Appeal route
- Appeal lies to the District Magistrate or designated appellate authority, then recourse to the Chief Electoral Officer.
- Supreme Court ruling
- In ADR vs ECI (27.05.2026) the Court held SIR within ECI's statutory mandate under the RP Act, 1950 and consistent with Article 324.
- Article 324
- Article 324 vests superintendence, direction and control of elections and the preparation of electoral rolls in the Election Commission.
Don’t confuse with RP Act 1950 vs RP Act 1951: The 1950 Act deals with electoral rolls and seat allocation; the 1951 Act deals with the conduct of elections, disqualifications and disputes.
Don’t confuse with BLO vs BLA: A Booth Level Officer is an election official who does enumeration; a Booth Level Agent is nominated by a political party to check entries.
Laws, judgments and statutory bodies: 30 Prelims questions since 2013 (what the law says, who chairs, legal basis). In Mains, 44 news-triggered questions, most in GS2, asking for provisions and challenges.
Why it matters
- Cleaner rolls reduce duplicate and ineligible entries, supporting free and fair elections under Article 324.
- Public draft rolls and party agents add transparency.
Problems
- Risk of wrongful deletion of eligible voters, especially migrants and the poor, if verification is weak.
- Heavy workload on BLOs in a short time may affect quality.
Way forward
- Publish deletion data with reasons and run independent audits of deleted entries.
- Make claims and appeals easy to access, with awareness drives and enough time.
Put in your answer
Article 324: Constitutional basis of ECI's power over electoral rolls and elections.
Supreme Court judgment 2026: The Court upheld SIR as within ECI's statutory mandate under the RP Act, 1950.
Safeguards: Two to three BLO visits before an elector is treated as untraceable.
- 2026Mains GS2 · Q4Is voting a fundamental right; ECI roll revision and citizenship
- 2004Prelims Q35Which tasks belong to ECI, including preparation of electoral rolls for elections?
- 2017Prelims Q57Who may file Lok Sabha nomination; electoral roll entry relevance
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Lasting electoral topic with a debate, but this release only restates phases. No new provision or fact to test.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.