(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has already started in West Bengal. Now, the West Bengal Congress has approached the Supreme Court against the SIR process for the voter list.

Multiple states, such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal, have opposed SIR. Gujarat civil society activists have also approached the apex court against the process. Among political parties, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), ​CPI(M) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) have also opposed the electoral move.

Why is Congress opposing it in Bengal?

Suman Ray Chowdhury, spokesperson of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee, has clarified why the party approached the apex court.

“In Bihar, we saw that 44 lakh names were removed. We don't believe the names were removed properly. When the form arrived in Bengal, it had to be modified. We also want to know why the 2002 voter list is being used as the base for SIR. Why not use any voter list after 2002? There are many mapping and linking issues. This will remove many genuine voters' names, while fake entries will remain,” Suman told Aajkal.

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“There is another issue. People born before 1987 only need to provide their own details. Those born after 1987 need details of at least one parent. Those born after 2004 must provide details of themselves and both parents. We believe that SIR is being used as a backdoor to bring in NRC,” Suman added.

SIR opponents often cite examples from Bihar.

Bihar: 65 lakh voter names deleted

Around 65 lakh names were removed from Bihar's draft electoral rolls during the SIR in mid-2025. It created major controversy, prompting a case in the Supreme Court.

The top court has now directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to publish district-wise lists of all 65 lakh deleted voters on the websites of Bihar's Chief Electoral Officer and every District Electoral Officer.

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The searchable list, available through EPIC numbers, must clearly state the reason for each deletion. It must mention reasons such as death, permanent migration, and double registration.

'De facto NRC'

On 3 November, Tamil Nadu's ruling party, the DMK, approached the Supreme Court against SIR. The party called it 'de facto NRC', comparing it with the controversial National Register of Citizens.

According to those who oppose SIR, it requires voters to provide citizenship-like proof, exceeding the legal purpose of revising electoral rolls. They believe lakhs of genuine voters could be removed without due process, affecting free and fair elections.

Is SIR illegal?

Opposition parties and civil society groups argue that the SIR of electoral rolls is unconstitutional because it does not follow the Representation of the People Act (ROPA) 1950 or the Registration of Electors Rules 1960. They claim the ECI cannot use Article 324 to bypass these laws.

They highlight that Section 28(3) of ROPA requires any new procedure for electoral rolls to be officially notified and placed before Parliament, which was not done. The SIR also demands retrospective document checks using a 2003 cut-off, a rule not found in existing laws.

Petitioners say the mass re-verification process violates court-mandated safeguards like individual hearings. They argue that it may unfairly disenfranchise vulnerable voters.

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Multiple states, political parties and civil groups oppose the SIR for a few other reasons. They claim that the SIR is being used to manipulate voter rolls for political advantage.

They argue that the time given for door-to-door verification is too short. It coincides with the monsoon months and major festivals, such as Christmas and Pongal, which reduce voter participation.

There are also complaints of operational lapses. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) allegedly skipped house visits, failed to give proper forms and pushed deleted voters to re-register incorrectly.

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