The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a significant legal challenge brought forth by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu. The hearing is slated for November 11, with a bench led by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai confirming the date. The DMK’s lawyer presented the matter to the apex court on Friday.
The plea, filed by RS Bharathi, Organising Secretary of the DMK, contests the constitutional validity of the SIR process. The party is seeking to nullify the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) October 27 notification, which extended the SIR to Tamil Nadu. This notification was reportedly based on earlier guidelines issued by the ECI on June 24. The DMK’s challenge directly targets these ECI orders from June 24 and October 27.
The core of the DMK’s petition highlights the potential for the SIR to disenfranchise a large segment of the electorate. The party contends that the process, if allowed to proceed as ordered, could arbitrarily remove thousands of voters without following due process. This, they argue, would severely compromise the integrity of elections and the foundational principles of democracy. The plea asserts that the ECI’s actions violate multiple constitutional provisions, including Articles 14, 19, 21, 325, and 326, alongside crucial aspects of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
Key concerns raised in the petition include the demanding documentation requirements, the absence of adequate due process, and the incredibly short timeframe for conducting the SIR in Tamil Nadu. The DMK fears this rushed process will inevitably lead to the deletion of names of genuine voters, effectively barring them from participating in elections. It is pertinent to mention that Tamil Nadu had already undergone a Special Summary Revision (SSR) between October 2024 and January 6, 2025. This prior revision addressed issues such as voter migration and deaths, and updated the rolls, which were published on January 6, 2025, and have seen continuous updates since.
The DMK’s legal team posits that the ECI’s directives represent an unconstitutional overreach. While acknowledging the ECI’s powers under Article 324 of the Constitution for election superintendence, they argue these powers cannot supersede existing legislation. The party maintains that the ECI’s orders are an attempt to bypass the established statutory framework for electoral roll preparation. This legal dispute emerges as the ECI is undertaking the second phase of SIR across various states, with a nationwide final voter list anticipated by February 7, 2026.
