DMK, AAP sign INDIA Bloc’s letter to Chief Justice of India on SIR

In a display of Opposition unity, 23 Opposition parties have submitted a joint memorandum to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, alleging that the Election Commission of India's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in states such as West Bengal and Bihar is "biased" and flawed. The letter, whose contents have not been made public by the INDIA bloc, is also learnt to have raised concerns over the ongoing exercise in other states.

The DMK and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the two political parties that were not present at the INDIA bloc meeting on 8 June, have also signed the letter. AAP is not a part of the INDIA bloc, while the DMK had informed INDIA bloc in advance that it would not attend the meeting, protesting against what it described as a post-election “betrayal” by Congress, one of the constituents, after the alliance lost in the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at the meeting had not responded to the allegation but stated that he was confident that DMK would turn up and stand with the Opposition whenever the situation demanded.

The INDIA bloc meeting had resolved to send a joint letter to the CJI. The meeting was convened at the insistence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee following the Trinamool Congress’s defeat in the West Bengal Assembly polls. There was unanimity at the meeting that disenfranchisement of millions of legitimate voters in Bihar and West Bengal under SIR was one of the factors responsible for the defeat of the opposition parties in the two states. Independent Rajya Sabha MP and senior Supreme Court lawyer Kapil Sibal, according to reports in the media, had suggested that a joint memorandum be sent to the Chief Justice of India on alleged electoral irregularities.

Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X: “The Opposition parties are firmly anchored in SURE—Solidarity, Unity and Resistance.” The INDIA bloc has not shared the contents of the letter. However, a senior leader said, “When all else fails, Indian democracy looks towards the judiciary. We have flagged the biased conduct of the Election Commission and the ways in which election results are manipulated.”

The letter appears to be a symbolic and informal means to communicate to the CJI the suspicion and actual manipulations which cannot be included in a petition to the Supreme Court.

There are petitions against SIR which are still pending before the Supreme Court even as the apex court on May 27 2026 upheld the SIR in Bihar, holding that the exercise was constitutionally valid, proportionate and within the EC’s powers under Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.

The judgment was delivered by Chief Justice Surya Kant on behalf of himself and Justice Joymalya Bagchi after hearings that ran for nearly seven months since July 2025.

In West Bengal, SIR disenfranchised at least 27 lakh voters for reasons which were never communicated to them. This constitutes a violation of electoral laws since nobody can be dropped from the electoral rolls without being given the reason in writing and without a hearing.

Each such voter is required to be heard in person and if his case fails to satisfy the Election Commission, the decision again needs to be communicated in writing. SIR did not follow this procedure.

What is more, the functioning of the 19 appellate tribunals in Kolkata, set up by the Calcutta High Court to hear appeals by the disenfranchised under SIR, remains opaque.

The tribunals are believed to be working mostly online and there is no clarity on how many petitions are being heard, how the petitions are being prioritised, how are the petitioners told when their cases would be listed and if the decisions are being communicated to them in writing.