The devil in the draft SIR order

Significant gaps between the draft and final versions of the Election Commission’s 24 June Special Intensive Revision (SIR) order have come to light, including the quiet deletion of Citizenship Act references and an incomplete constitutional line. These details were highlighted in an investigation by The Indian Express published today.

The report said that on the same day the order was issued, Election Commissioner Sukhbir Singh Sandhu inserted a note of caution into the draft, urging that the revision exercise, which requires all voters to file enumeration forms and certain groups to provide additional proof of eligibility, must not burden vulnerable citizens.

Sandhu wrote that genuine electors, particularly the elderly, the sick, persons with disabilities, the poor and other fragile groups, should be “facilitated” and not “harassed”.

Chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar cleared the draft via WhatsApp within hours, reflecting the urgency behind the rollout. Yet when the final order was made public that evening, a crucial section was altered.

According to The Indian Express, the draft explicitly linked the SIR to the Citizenship Act, arguing that changes to the law in 2004 and the absence of an intensive revision since then justified the nationwide exercise. This entire statutory justification was removed in the final version.

In its place, the order cited Article 326 of the Constitution, but the sentence asserting the EC’s obligation to ensure only citizens are on the rolls ends abruptly after a semicolon. Since 24 June, the EC has offered no clarification on the incomplete line.

Sandhu’s concerns, however, did find their way into the final text. Paragraph 13 echoes his note almost word for word, instructing electoral officers to avoid inconveniencing vulnerable voters and to deploy volunteers if necessary. His specific reference to “citizens” in this context was dropped.

The EC did not respond to queries from The Indian Express regarding the changes. Sandhu was also unavailable for comment.

The investigation raises new questions about the drafting process, the rationale behind the SIR, and the speed with which the order was finalised, with the devil, as the report suggests, lying in the missing details of the draft.