Petition in Supreme Court seeks 3-month extension of SIR in Uttar Pradesh

The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Azad Trust has moved the Supreme Court seeking a three-month extension of 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 people, the petitioner alleged may lead to wrongful deletions and mass disenfranchisement, particularly in rural areas.

The Election Commission began the SIR process in Uttar Pradesh on November 4, under the theme “Shuddh Nirvachak Namavali – Majboot Loktantra” (Clean Electoral Roll – Strong Democracy).

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

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

The 12 states and union territories where SIR 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 polls in 2026. Assam, where polls are also due in 2026, SIR of the electoral rolls will be announced separately.

The second phase of the SIR 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 Election Commission’s June 24, 2025 notification on SIR was already under challenge, several petitions have been filed against the poll panel’s October 27, 2025 notification for SIR, describing it as “constitutional overreach” on the ground that the poll panel lacked the authority to implement it.