**SIR ‘Prerogative’ of Election Commission; Directive to Them Is Interference: Supreme Court**
*By Snehil Singh | October 7, 2025, 5:08 PM*
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**Supreme Court Upholds Exclusive Authority of Election Commission Over Special Intensive Revision**
The Supreme Court has ruled that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar is the exclusive domain of the Election Commission of India (ECI). This judgment came after the Election Commission was asked to notify the bench about its plans to conduct SIR in five additional states.
Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi emphasized, “Conducting SIR is the prerogative and exclusive domain of the Election Commission. If we come in between, this would be interfering.” The bench clearly indicated that any judicial interference in this process would be unwarranted.
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**Transparency Concerns Raised Over Voter Deletions**
The court was hearing a petition challenging the SIR process. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the petitioners, argued that many individuals were unaware that their names were deleted from the electoral rolls.
He stated, “None of the 3.66 lakh people whose names were deleted received any notice.”
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the Association for Democratic Reforms, also expressed concerns about transparency. He highlighted that approximately 4.7 million names were removed during the revision, pointing to significant issues with the notification process.
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**Election Commission Defends Its Actions**
Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the Election Commission, defended the commission’s approach. He stated that people were indeed informed about the deletions and that copies of the draft and final electoral rolls were shared with political parties.
Following the SIR, the final electoral rolls in Bihar now list nearly 7.42 crore voters. The revision resulted in 68 lakh deletions, but after claims and objections, 21 lakh names were restored.
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**Supreme Court Requests Detailed Information From Petitioners**
The bench has asked the petitioners to provide a list of voters who claim they were not informed about their removal from the rolls and who wish to appeal the decision.
The court remarked, “We need to understand how the system works. They won’t provide information from the headquarters; verification has to happen at the ground level. The question is, who are we doing this for? Why aren’t people coming forward?”
The hearing is scheduled to continue on Thursday, coinciding with the Election Commission’s announcement of two-phase polling for the Bihar Assembly elections in November.
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**Election Commission Plans Pan-India SIR Post Bihar Elections**
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar announced that the Election Commission has decided to conduct the Special Intensive Revision of voter lists nationwide, following the Bihar Assembly elections.
“The Election Commission has already taken a decision to conduct a pan-India SIR in every state and union territory. It is a work in progress. The EC will decide on the dates and make a formal announcement,” he said during a recent press conference.
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**Summary**
The Supreme Court has reaffirmed that conducting the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls is solely within the Election Commission’s jurisdiction, cautioning against judicial interference. Transparency concerns regarding voter deletions remain under scrutiny, with the court seeking detailed information from affected voters. Meanwhile, the Election Commission is moving forward with plans to conduct a nationwide revision of electoral rolls after the Bihar polls.
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/politics/sir-prerogative-of-ec-directive-to-them-is-interference-sc/story
