Petition in SC seeks three-month extension of poll roll SIR in UP

The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Azad Trust has moved the Supreme Court seeking a three-month extension of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls underway in Uttar Pradesh, saying it’s essential to ensure accurate voter rolls and protection of rural electors.

Contending that the current four-week period for the SIR exercise was “administratively impossible” for a voter base of 15.35 crore, the petitioner claimed it might lead to wrongful deletions and mass disenfranchisement, particularly in rural areas.

The Election Commission (EC) began the SIR process in Uttar Pradesh on November 4, under the theme “Clean Electoral Roll — Strong Democracy”.

Under the SIR exercise, booth-level officers are to visit every household until December 4 to verify and update voter information.

On October 27, the EC announced the conduct of the second phase of the SIR exercise in 12 states and Union Territories between November 2025 and February 2026.

The states and UTs where the exercise is being conducted are: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and West Bengal are scheduled to go to the polls in 2026. The SIR will be announced separately for Assam where the elections are also due in 2026.

The second phase of the exercise began on November 4 and will continue till December 4. The EC will release the draft electoral rolls on December 9 and the final electoral rolls will be published on February 7.

While the EC’s June 24, 2025 notification on the SIR has already been challenged, several petitions have been filed against the poll panel’s October 27, 2025 notification also, describing it as “constitutional overreach” on the ground that the poll panel lacked the authority to implement it.