**SIR ‘Prerogative’ of Election Commission, Directive to Them Is Interference: Supreme Court**
*By Snehil Singh | Oct 07, 2025 | 05:08 PM*
The Supreme Court has affirmed that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar falls exclusively under the jurisdiction of the Election Commission of India (ECI). This ruling came in response to queries directed at the ECI about scheduling the SIR process in five additional states.
### Supreme Court’s Stance on SIR
A bench comprising 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 Court clearly underscored that any directive or interference from the judiciary in the scheduling or execution of SIR would be inappropriate.
### Concerns Over Transparency Raised by Petitioners
The hearing addressed petitions challenging the SIR process on grounds of transparency. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the petitioners, pointed out that many voters were allegedly unaware of their names being deleted from the electoral rolls. He stated, “None of the 3.66 lakh people whose names were deleted received any notice.”
Adding to this, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), raised concerns over the transparency of voter removals. He highlighted that approximately 4.7 million names were deleted from the rolls, bringing into question whether adequate notification procedures were followed.
### Election Commission’s Defense
Representing the ECI, advocate Rakesh Dwivedi defended the Commission’s approach, assuring that the affected individuals were informed about deletions. He noted that draft and final voter lists were shared with political parties to ensure transparency during the claims and objections period.
After the SIR process in Bihar, the final electoral rolls consist of nearly 7.42 crore names, following the deletion of about 68 lakh names. Additionally, around 21 lakh names were re-added based on claims and objections received.
### Supreme Court Seeks Details From Petitioners
The Supreme Court requested the petitioners to submit a detailed list of people who purportedly were not informed about the deletion of their names and who wish to appeal. The bench remarked, “We need to understand how the system works. They won’t provide information from the headquarters. They have to verify at ground level. The question is, who are we doing this for? Why aren’t people coming forward?”
The hearing is set to continue on Thursday, following the Election Commission’s announcement of a two-phase polling schedule for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections in November.
### Election Commission Plans Nationwide SIR
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar announced on Monday that the ECI is preparing to conduct SIR of voter lists across the country after the Bihar polls conclude.
He stated, “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.”
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*Stay tuned for further updates on this developing story.*
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/politics/sir-prerogative-of-ec-directive-to-them-is-interference-sc/story
