SC agrees to take up DMK’s petition against EC’s decision to conduct SIR in Tamil Nadu on November 11

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on November 11 a petition filed by Tamil Nadu’s ruling party — Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) — challenging the Election Commission’s decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.

"A writ has been filed and registered by the political party DMK My Lords… Urgent stay has been prayed for… May list it on Monday," advocate Vivek Singh said as he mentioned the DMK's petition before a Bench led by CJI BR Gavai for urgent listing.

“List it on Tuesday,” the CJI said.

In its petition filed under Article 32 the DMK challenged the Election Commission's June 24, 2025 and October 27, 2025, notifications for SIR, describing it as “constitutional overreach” on the ground that the poll panel lacked the authority to implement it.

"This is not an appropriate time to implement SIR and the Election Commission is acting beyond the powers granted by the Constitution,” it submitted.

The DMK alleged that the SIR procedure was designed in a way that enabled the removal of eligible persons and the inclusion of ineligible ones. "Implementing this SIR would put millions of Tamil Nadu voters at risk of losing their voting rights," it submitted.

Earlier, the top court allowed the SIR exercise in Bihar to be completed.

The DMK’s move came a day after the Tamil Nadu Government convened an all-party meeting to discuss the poll panel’s decision on SIR in the state.

The DMK contended that a Special Summary Revision (SSR) had already been conducted in Tamil Nadu between October 2024 and January 6, 2025, during which the electoral roll was updated to reflect changes such as migration, deaths and deletion of ineligible voters. The revised roll was published on January 6, 2025, and has been continuously updated since then, it added.

The DMK alleged that the Election Commission has “claimed the power to assess the citizenship of individuals” — a power that rests solely with the Union Government under the Citizenship Act, 1955. By imposing documentation requirements akin to a citizenship test, the SIR allegedly transformed the EC into a “de facto National Register of Citizens (NRC)”, it submitted.