Tamil Nadu parties to move apex court over SIR

With less than 48 hours to go for the commencement of the second round of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in nine states and three Union Territories, a multi-party meeting chaired by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday decided to approach the Supreme Court against the process in the poll-bound state.

Tamil Nadu is among the nine states, where the SIR will be conducted from November 4. Assembly elections are also slated be held in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala and Puducherry in May 2026. All these states and UT will be covered in the second phase of SIR.

Assam is also scheduled to go to the polls next year. But the state has been exempted from the exercise for now, owing to the ongoing NRC process there.

Meanwhile, the multi-party meeting held in Chennai termed the exercise ‘anti-democratic’ and against the interests of the people of Tamil Nadu. Members further pointed out that the Supreme Court was yet to deliver its verdict on the issue in the Bihar SIR case.

“The SIR is unacceptable, and the all-party meeting urges the Election Commission of India to abandon the exercise. The revision of electoral rolls should be conducted only after addressing the shortcomings in the process. It must be carried out in a transparent manner, in accordance with the guidelines of the Supreme Court, and with adequate time at hand after the 2026 Assembly elections in the state,” said a resolution adopted at the meeting.

The resolution also flagged the announcement, which stated that documents related to the date of birth of voters should be submitted when demanded by the election registration officer (ERO).

It noted that the poll panel had not clarified when the documents would be demanded, what would be the format of the application, how many days would be given for submission and to whom it should be submitted. It seems that there is a plan to remove the names of genuine voters, added the resolution.

Leaders in the meeting also expressed doubts over the hurried manner in which the SIR was to be conducted. They said, “The North-East monsoon will be at its peak during the proposed period of the SIR between November 4 and December 4. As most voters are rural farmers, they will not have adequate time to submit the enumeration forms.”

“Besides, the Revenue Department will be busy in handling rain-related emergencies. Thus, the period is not suitable for conducting the SIR. The exercise appears to be intended to remove a substantial number of voters from the electoral roll,” they added.

Reiterating that the SIR should be conducted in a fair manner, the meeting stated that the Election Commission should function impartially, without favouring any particular party.

Meanwhile, the AIADMK, the main Opposition party headed by former Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami, boycotted the meeting. The factions led by O Panneerselvam, the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) led by actor Vijay, the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) led by Ramadoss and his son Anbumani Ramadoss also stayed away from the meeting.

The resolution passed in the meeting alleged that it was highly condemnable that the EC had become a “puppet of the BJP-led Central Government” and was functioning in an undemocratic manner despite objections from the political parties of Tamil Nadu.

“Our fear stems from what happened in Bihar. The SIR was conducted in a manner that deleted the votes of minorities and those opposed to the BJP. The Election Commission failed to make any statement on the issue either in the Supreme Court or in public forums,” the meeting alleged further.

“There is no doubt that the SIR, planned unilaterally by the Election Commission in Tamil Nadu and 11 other States, is aimed at depriving people of their voting rights and burying democracy,” leaders in the meeting said.

They contended that the SIR could be conducted only after issuing a notification in the Gazette as per Section 169 of the Representation of the People Act.

“The Election Commission unilaterally issuing the notification without following due procedure is against the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act. The SIR notification itself is illegal. Even though the Supreme Court ordered that the Aadhaar card should be included as the 12th document, the EC notification dated October 27 mentions Aadhaar in an unclear manner,” alleged the resolution.