A commentary has questioned the Supreme Court’s verdict of 27 May 2026 on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, asking whether the Election Commission (ECI) can inquire into citizenship and delete names on suspicion.

The Court upheld the SIR under Article 324 and the Representation of the People Act, 1950. The ECI may examine citizenship only for electoral eligibility, and the final decision stays with the competent authority under the Citizenship Act, 1955.

The Court backed the exercise but fenced in its effect.

• Power: The ECI has the authority to order an SIR under Article 324 and Section 21(3) of the 1950 Act. The SIR works inside the Act and Rules and is not invalid because it differs from the usual revision.
• Citizenship: The ECI may look at citizenship only to decide electoral eligibility. A deletion is an electoral decision and not a declaration of non-citizenship.
• Restoration: If the competent authority later finds a person to be a citizen, the name goes back on the roll.
• Rule 21A: Deletions during an SIR do not conflict with Rule 21A of the Registration of Electors Rules.
• Reasoning: The aim is the “integrity, accuracy and purity” of the rolls, which support free and fair elections.

Critics say the verdict leaves too much unsettled.

• “Limited” inquiry: The term has no clear legal meaning, so an existing voter could be struck off on doubt.
• Only two qualifications: Article 326 requires only an adult citizen, and lists the grounds for disqualification.
• No document list: No single document conclusively proves citizenship, and the verdict names none.
• Natural justice: A voter should get a hearing before removal.
• Stable rolls: Free and fair elections are part of the basic structure, so rolls used earlier should not be unsettled by suspicion.

• Constitutional duty: The ECI told the Court it has the power and a duty to ensure that no foreigners are registered as voters.
• Law: Section 16 of the 1950 Act bars a person who is not a citizen from being registered.
• Documents: At an early stage in 2025, the Court asked the ECI to consider accepting Aadhaar, ration card and voter ID, and said citizenship is mainly a matter for the Home Ministry.

• Proof of citizenship: Migrants, women, the poor and those without papers are at the greatest risk of being dropped.
• Trust: Mass deletions close to elections reduce confidence in the rolls.
• Appeals: Wrongly deleted voters must go through claims and appeals, often within a short time.
• Uniformity: The SIR is now being carried out across States with different records.

• Article 324: Election Commission controls and supervises elections.
• Article 326: Adult suffrage for a citizen aged 18 (61st Amendment, 1988, lowered it from 21).
• Article 325: No one is kept off the general roll because of religion, race, caste or sex.
• RP Act, 1950: Section 16 bars non-citizens, Section 21(3) allows a special revision.
• Registration of Electors Rules, 1960: Rule 21A covers deletion.
• Forms: Form 6 (new voter), Form 7 (objection or deletion), Form 8 (correction).
• SIR timeline: Ordered 24 June 2025 in Bihar, verdict reserved 29 January 2026 and pronounced 27 May 2026.
• Citizenship: Citizenship Act, 1955 and Articles 5 to 11.