**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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**Overview**
The Supreme Court has affirmed that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar falls solely under the jurisdiction of the Election Commission of India (ECI). This ruling came after the Election Commission was requested to inform the bench about its plans to conduct SIR in five additional states.
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**Supreme Court’s Stand**
Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi emphasized that “conducting SIR is the prerogative and exclusive domain of the Election Commission.” The bench further noted that any judicial intervention in this process would amount to undue interference.
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**Transparency Concerns Raised**
During the hearing of a petition challenging the SIR process, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the petitioners, argued that a significant number of voters were not notified about their names being deleted from the electoral rolls. He stated, “None of the 3.66 lakh people whose names were deleted received any notice.”
Similarly, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the Association for Democratic Reforms, raised concerns over transparency. He highlighted that around 4.7 million names were removed from the rolls and questioned the adequacy of notifications issued to affected voters.
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**Election Commission’s Response**
Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the Election Commission, defended its actions by asserting that voters were indeed informed about the deletions. He added that draft and final electoral rolls were shared with political parties as part of the process.
The finalized electoral rolls in Bihar now contain approximately 7.42 crore names following the SIR exercise. This includes the deletion of 68 lakh names and re-addition of 21 lakh names after the claims and objections period.
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**Supreme Court Requests Further Information**
The Supreme Court bench has asked petitioners to submit a detailed list of individuals who claim not to have been informed about their deletion and wish to appeal. The bench remarked, “We need to understand how the system works. Information cannot be provided solely from headquarters; verification must happen at the ground level.”
The bench further questioned the reluctance of affected individuals to come forward with grievances.
The hearing is scheduled to continue on Thursday, coinciding with the Election Commission’s announcement of a two-phase polling schedule for the Bihar Assembly elections in November.
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**Election Commission Plans Nationwide SIR**
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar announced that following the Bihar Assembly elections, the Election Commission has decided to conduct SIR of voter lists across the entire country.
“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 in a recent press conference.
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*Stay tuned for further updates on the SIR process and electoral developments.*
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/politics/sir-prerogative-of-ec-directive-to-them-is-interference-sc/story
