‘Breathes life into democratic process’: What Supreme Court said while upholding validity of SIR

Supreme Court of India on 27 May upheld the constitutional validity of Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar.

The top court said that the poll panel acted in the interest of free and fair elections adding that it has has power to conduct SIR of electoral rolls under constitutional scheme and Representation of the People Act.

The verdict was with regard to a batch of pleas have claimed that the Election Commission does not have the powers under Article 326 of the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act,1950 and the Rules made under it to carry out SIR on such a larger form.

The bench said the SIR could not be scrapped merely because it did not follow certain procedural modalities contemplated under the law and that the revision exercise does not violate the Representation of the People Act but instead “breathes life to the democratic process of elections”.

“When the statute itself authorises a special revision at any time, for reasons to be recorded and in such manner as the Election Commission may deem fit, the impugned exercise cannot be invalidated merely because it does not conform in every respect to the ordinary modalities contemplated for routine revision,” it said.

Wednesday's verdict assumes significance as it endorses the Election Commission’s powers to undertake intensive revisions of electoral rolls to ensure the accuracy and integrity of voter lists.

"In our considered opinion, the impugned SIR does not supplant the Representation of the People Act and the Rules. Rather, it breathes life into the constitutional mandate under Article 324 within the precise statutory contours provided by Section 21(3). Therefore, it cannot be said that the Commission has acted in excess of its statutory powers," the Court held.

Earlier this month, the Election Commission announced Phase III of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) across 19 states and Union Territories. Phase 1 was conducted in Bihar, between June and September 2025, ahead of the 2025 state Assembly Election, while Phase II was conducted in nine states and three UTs between October 2025 and February 2026.

Here are the top updates from the Supreme Court verdict delivered on 27 May as reported by legal news website LiveLaw:

-It can't be said ECI acted outside the statutory powers by exercising SIR. It can't be said ultra vires because the exercise is different from what is ordinary conducted.

-SIR is not a process to subvert but to secure the mandate of free and fair elections.

-This exercise is independent in character and does not detract from the constitutional imperative of free and fair elections. It is instead an exercise traceable to Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act read with Article 324 of the Constitution and is intended to advance the very objectives which the constitutional framework seeks to protect.

-The impugned exercise satisfies the requirements of proportionality. The measures adopted bear a reasonable nexus to the objectives sought to be achieved, are not manifestly excessive and are accompanied by sufficient procedural safeguards to prevent arbitrary exclusion.

-The exercise was founded upon a legitimate and constitutionally grounded purpose, namely the restoration of the accuracy, completeness and integrity of the electoral rolls.

-Since SIR is legally tenable, it is not in violation of the RP Act.

-The requirement of showcause as envisaged fully stands incorporated. we are of the view that deletions in the SIRs can't be said contrary to procedure in the Rules. validity of documents- after dealing with 11 documents and inclusion of aadhar card through our order, we are unable to accept that the reasoning that the set of documents required by ECI is arbitrary. it is neither practical that the verification of documents are unguided.

The Election Commission had last year begun the SIR exercise in Bihar followed in other states after which a batch of pleas was filed before the top court challenging the constitutional validity of the exercise.

The SIR in Bihar was conducted in the first phase of the exercise.