New Delhi [India], November 3 : Tamil Nadu's ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Monday moved the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the Electoral Roll and seeking quashing of the October 27 notification of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
It challenged the ECI's orders dated June 24 and October 27, which directed the conduct of SIR.
The SIR and the EC orders, if not set aside, can "arbitrarily and without due process disenfranchise lakhs of voters" from electing their representatives, thereby disrupting free and fair elections and democracy in the country, which are part of the basic structure of the Constitution, said the petition filed by DMK's Organising Secretary RS Bharathi.
The plea sought quashing of the notification on grounds of being allegedly in violation of Articles 14, 19, 21, 325 and 326 of the Constitution of India as well as provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
The documentation requirements of the directive, lack of due process, as well as the unreasonably short timeline for the said SIR of the Electoral Roll in the state of Tamil Nadu, make this exercise bound to result in the removal of names of lakhs of genuine voters from electoral rolls, leading to their disenfranchisement, the plea alleged.
"A Special Summary Revision (SSR) was conducted in the state of Tamil Nadu between October 2024 to January 6, 2025, which addressed issues such as migration, death and deletion of ineligible voters. Existing electoral roll in Tamil Nadu was updated and published on January 6, 2025 under Special Summary Revision and has been continuously updated since then," it added.
It further said that it is a clear case of constitutional overreach as Article 324 of the Constitution of India, while vesting ECI with superintendence and control over elections, operates only in fields unoccupied by legislation.
Vide orders dated October 27 and June 24, the ECI is seeking to supplant the existing statutory framework, which already governs the preparation and revision of electoral rolls, said the poll panel.
ECI last month announced that it will conduct the second phase of SIR of electoral rolls across 12 states and Union Territories, with the final voter list to be published on February 7, 2026. The first phase of SIR has been completed in Bihar ahead of the assembly polls successfully.
The 2nd phase exercise will cover Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.