Election Commission's Power to Examine Citizenship for Electoral Rolls: Supreme Court Verdict on SIR
The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional and statutory validity of the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls conducted in Bihar, ruling it to be within the Commission's lawful mandate.
Bihar's voter count declined by approximately 6 per cent (from 78.9 million to 74.2 million) after the exercise identified 2.234 million deceased voters, 6.85 million duplicate registrations, and 3.644 million relocated voters.
The Court clarified a critical constitutional boundary: the Commission may examine citizenship questions for the limited purpose of electoral registration, but cannot make a final determination of citizenship — that authority rests exclusively with the competent executive authority designated under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Where the Commission remains unsatisfied about a person's citizenship, it must refer the case to the designated competent authority, which must decide the question before the next election in that constituency; any deletion from the rolls is electoral in nature and does not strip the person of citizenship.
Article 324: Superintendence of Elections Vested in the Election Commission
Article 324(1) of the Constitution vests in the Election Commission the superintendence, direction, and control of the preparation of electoral rolls and the conduct of all elections to Parliament, State Legislatures, and the offices of President and Vice-President. The Supreme Court has consistently held that Article 324 operates as a constitutional reserve power, enabling the Commission to act where legislative provisions are silent, but only for the limited purpose of ensuring free and fair elections.
The Court relied on Article 324 to hold that the SIR, aimed at purging ineligible names from electoral rolls, is a constitutional obligation of the Commission — not an optional exercise.
Representation of the People Act, 1950: Voter Eligibility and Disqualifications
The Representation of the People Act, 1950 governs the preparation and maintenance of electoral rolls. Section 16 disqualifies a person from registration if they are not a citizen of India, have been declared of unsound mind by a competent court, or are otherwise disqualified under any law relating to corrupt practices. Article 326 of the Constitution, read with Section 16, makes citizenship the foundational eligibility criterion for voter registration.
The SIR was triggered partly by concerns over inclusion of non-citizen names arising from rapid urbanisation, migration, and demographic changes since 2003. Section 16's citizenship bar is the legal basis for deletions.
Citizenship Act, 1955: Determination of Citizenship Status
The Citizenship Act, 1955 is the primary parliamentary enactment governing acquisition, termination, and deprivation of Indian citizenship. Under Section 9(2), if any question arises as to whether a person has acquired the citizenship of another country, the matter is determined by the Central Government, whose decision is final. The Act vests citizenship determination exclusively in the designated competent authority — not in any electoral body.
The verdict draws a clear institutional boundary — the Commission may flag citizenship doubts for electoral purposes, but the substantive legal question of citizenship must travel to the executive authority Parliament has designated under the Citizenship Act.
Special Intensive Revision (SIR): Electoral Roll Management Tool
A Special Intensive Revision is a tool used by the Election Commission to comprehensively update electoral rolls through a door-to-door enumeration process, as distinct from the annual Summary Revision which is a passive, claims-based exercise. The SIR process requires field verification of all existing entries and fresh inclusion of eligible citizens, making it far more resource-intensive than routine roll revision.
Critics argued the Bihar SIR was conducted too close to elections and with inadequate notice. The Supreme Court, while upholding the exercise, directed that due process safeguards must be strictly observed in any future deletion of names.
- Bihar's electorate post-SIR: approximately 74.2 million (down from 78.9 million).
- Deceased voters identified and removed: 2.234 million.
- Duplicate registrations removed: 6.85 million.
- Voters removed due to relocation: 3.644 million.
- The last SIR in Bihar was conducted in 2003 — a 22-year gap preceded the 2025 exercise.
- Supreme Court verdict date: 27 May 2026; Bench comprised of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
- The Commission must refer citizenship doubts to the competent authority, which must decide before the next election in that constituency.