Context: The Election Commission's third-phase Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across 16 States and 3 Union Territories has deleted over 6.15 crore names (17.04%) from draft voter lists, with Delhi and Maharashtra's rolls published most recently. Several chief ministers have flagged the deletions as excessive and sought an extended claims-and-objections window, even as the Supreme Court has already upheld the SIR exercise's constitutional validity.
The Election Commission of India's third phase of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, covering 16 States and 3 Union Territories, has resulted in draft deletions of 6.15 crore names (17.04%) out of 36.08 crore total electors, as draft rolls near completion for all areas except Nagaland and Tripura. Delhi recorded the highest percentage of deletions (32.78%) and Maharashtra the highest absolute number (2.06 crore).
SIR is a high-frequency current GS2 topic on the Election Commission's powers under Article 324 and the Representation of the People Act, balancing electoral roll accuracy against the risk of wrongful disenfranchisement — a debate directly relevant to Polity and Governance papers.
Test your understanding
Q1.Which constitutional article empowers the Election Commission of India to superintend, direct and control elections, providing the basis for exercises like the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls?