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SIR voter-roll revision

The Election Commission's nationwide Special Intensive Revision of voter lists: its deletions, additions and the legal fight over how it was run.

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The question

Is the Special Intensive Revision cleaning India's voter lists, or leaving eligible voters off them?

13.39 crorenames flagged absent, shifted, dead or duplicate in draft rolls, of 95.40 crore reviewedThePrint
2.37 crorevoters aged 18 to 28 added since June 2025, according to the ECIDNA India
32.8%cut in Delhi's draft roll (1.45 crore to 97.53 lakh), the highest of any state or UTThe Indian Express
22.21 lakhappeals by deleted West Bengal voters seeking restoration, per an ECI affidavitThe Hindu
20states and UTs where the SIR is complete, as of 26 September 2026Press Information Bureau (Election Commission)
Context

How we got here

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is a fresh, door-to-door check of India's electoral rolls (voter lists), ordered by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on 24 June 2025, starting with Bihar. Unlike routine yearly updates, every registered voter had to submit a form within a month, link themselves or a parent to the roll from the last intensive revision in the early 2000s, and in some cases show documents. The ECI says the aim is to keep eligible voters on the rolls and remove dead, shifted, duplicate and ineligible entries. A second phase in 12 states and Union Territories (UTs) began in October 2025 and a third in May 2026; Assam, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir were left for later. The Supreme Court upheld the SIR order on 27 May 2026. In West Bengal, the court handed final checks to judicial officers and set up appeal tribunals. Opposition parties allege mass exclusion of eligible voters; the ECI and the BJP say draft-stage deletions are not final and can be corrected.

In their own words

Where each side stands

Election Commission

The ECI says the SIR keeps eligible voters on the rolls while removing errors through a set process. It says the 13 crore figure counts draft-stage flags, not final deletions, that parties' agents received the lists, and that claims and appeals are open. It says all SIR decisions were unanimous and that voter rolls remain under state-level officers.

DNA India · Press Information Bureau (Election Commission)
BJP and Union government

Home Minister Amit Shah says cleaning the rolls is the ECI's duty and accuses the opposition of trying to shield 'infiltrators' (people allegedly in India illegally) as a vote bank. The BJP says 13 crore names were flagged, not deleted, and Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis called the SIR the next phase of a long-standing process.

India Today · The Tribune
INDIA bloc

Congress says nearly 14 crore Indians have lost their right to vote and asks how many infiltrators were actually found. The bloc wants the SIR scrapped, eligible names restored and CEC Gyanesh Kumar to resign. Its Supreme Court petition seeks SIR records and an independent audit.

ThePrint · The Times of India
Former election chiefs

Ex-CEC O.P. Rawat told ThePrint the rolls shrank mainly because the burden of proving eligibility shifted to voters. Ex-CEC T.S. Krishna Murthy said large omissions are unsurprising after 20 years and alleging bad intent needs 'foolproof evidence'.

ThePrint
6 moments

The timeline

  1. Supreme Court issues notice on INDIA bloc petition seeking SIR records and an independent audit

    The petition does not challenge the ECI's power to hold the SIR, which the court upheld in May, but how it was carried out.

  2. Amit Shah says opposition is shielding 'infiltrators' on voter rolls; Congress asks for numbers

    Shah said opponents should 'bring a proposal in Parliament that anyone can be a voter', adding that the SIR asks whether you are a citizen.

  3. ECI orders special drive in 20 states and UTs to re-enrol voters left out of the SIR

    BLOs are to cover at least 20 to 25 electors a week and finish in about a month, Hindustan Times reported.

  4. Two Election Commissioners' 14 objections over SIR revealed; ECI says its decisions were unanimous

    Sandhu wrote on 13 August that the Form 6 change was 'unauthorised/illegal'; Joshi had said in May the form could only be changed by amending rules.

  5. Supreme Court flags 'mechanical' SIR notices in Delhi; ECI says no genuine voter will be deleted

    A 'logical discrepancy' is a flagged data mismatch, such as a parent less than 15 years older than their child.

  6. Delhi and Maharashtra draft rolls take SIR draft-stage deletions past 13 crore

    In Delhi, 29.86% of electors were marked absent, shifted or 'other', 1.95% dead and 0.98% enrolled at more than one place.

Honest gaps

What we still don't know

  • ?Final national figures, which the ECI says will be known only after the remaining 12 Phase 3 states and UTs publish final rolls.
  • ?How many deleted names belonged to ineligible people and how many to eligible voters who were missed; no infiltrator count has been published.
  • ?Who authorised the July 2026 change to the online Form 6 and the ECI's appeals against restored voters in West Bengal.
  • ?How the Supreme Court will rule on the INDIA bloc petition seeking SIR records and an audit.
Who reported this

Sources

Left-leaning · 2Centre · 5Official record · 1

8 outlets across the spectrum. Leanings are a rough guide to who reported it, not a verdict on accuracy.

  1. ThePrintAll of the eight past SIRs upped the electorate. Why this is the only time voter numbers shrank
  2. DNA India'13 crore voter deletion claim misleading': ECI hits back at SIR allegations
  3. The Indian ExpressSIR draft rolls see over 13 crore deletions so far, Delhi leads with 33% left out
  4. The Hindu'It is only bypolls': Supreme Court agrees to hearing in West Bengal SIR on October 5
  5. Press Information Bureau (Election Commission)The meeting of the Commission was held today i.e. 26.09.2026 at 3:00 PM. The following decisions were taken in the meeting
  6. India TodaySIR electoral roll revision: Congress asks Amit Shah for infiltrator data
Show all 10 sources
  1. The Tribune'Needed for accuracy, reliability': BJP defends SIR as two jurists question intent
  2. ThePrintCongress challenges Amit Shah's 'infiltrator' argument for SIR-'how many detected, deleted or deported'
  3. The Times of IndiaSupreme Court issues notice on SIR petition, seeks records of EC decision-making
  4. The Indian ExpressElection Commission ECI SIR Row: Commissioners Object to Gyanesh Kumar Over Roll Deletions
SIR voter-roll revision | Spasht