SC refuses to entertain plea for SIR of electoral rolls in poll-bound Assam

The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to conduct a special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Assam, holding that the matter no longer survives as the final rolls have already been published.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi took note of the submission by the poll panel that the final electoral roll for Assam had been released on 10 February. “Nothing survives now,” the CJI observed, effectively closing the matter.

The PIL, filed by Mrinal Kumar Choudhary, had challenged the ECI’s decision to carry out a standard special revision (SR) in Assam rather than the more rigorous SIR conducted in several other states. The petitioner had sought a direction to quash the poll panel’s 17 November 2025 memorandum ordering the SR, and instead mandate an SIR on the same parameters as the one conducted in Bihar in June 2025, ahead of the 2026 Assam Assembly elections.

Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Vijay Hansaria argued that Assam required a more intensive revision to safeguard the integrity of the electoral rolls. He also sought the exclusion of Aadhaar as a valid document for inclusion in the voter list.

However, senior advocate D.S. Naidu, representing the ECI, informed the court that the final rolls had already been notified, rendering the petition infructuous.

While declining to intervene, the bench underlined the sensitivity of the issue. It stressed that under the current statutory and judicial framework, the ECI does not have the authority to unilaterally declare individuals as foreigners. Determination of citizenship, the court noted, is governed by statutory cut-off dates and adjudicated by specialised foreigners’ tribunals.

“You have to be very sensitive and careful,” the CJI told Hansaria during the hearing.

The demand for an SIR in Assam has also been raised by prominent Opposition leaders, who argue that a comprehensive scrutiny of electoral rolls is necessary in light of the state’s fraught history with citizenship verification.

Assam’s National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise, finalised in 2019, had excluded over 19 lakh applicants, triggering widespread legal battles, administrative confusion and allegations of arbitrary exclusions. The process — aimed at identifying illegal immigrants in the state — was widely described as chaotic, leaving many genuine residents in limbo while also drawing criticism for inconsistencies and documentation hurdles.

Several Opposition voices have argued that, given the NRC experience and persistent concerns over alleged “illegal voters”, a standard SR may be inadequate. They contend that only an SIR, involving house-to-house verification and deeper scrutiny, would ensure credibility and prevent politically motivated narratives around voter legitimacy ahead of the Assembly polls.

The ruling establishment, however, has maintained that the statutory process has been followed and that the ECI is empowered to carry out revisions within the existing legal framework.

Following the conclusion of the SR exercise, data released by the state's chief electoral officer indicated that Assam’s voter count has declined by 2.43 lakh — a development likely to further intensify political debate in the run-up to the elections.

With PTI inputs