Supreme Court to Hear Plea Against Election Commission Notices on Delhi Electoral Rolls

Home / Top Stories Delhi SIR: Supreme Court To Hear Plea Against Notices Issued To 33 lakh Persons X Delhi SIR has generated significant attention after the draft electoral roll published on August 31, 2026 removed around 47.7 lakh names from the existing list of approximately 1.45 crore electors. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the petition challenging notices issued to 33 lakh persons by the election commission. The Supreme Court today has agreed to hear a petition concerning the Special Intensive Revision of Electoral rolls of Delhi NCR on September 22, 2026. Advocate Prashant Bhushan mentioned a fresh petition concerning the Delhi SIR before the CJI Surya Kant led bench. Bhushan told the bench, "Now what has happened is apart from the 47 lakh people who have been deleted...they have given notices to other 33 lakh people..people on two grounds. One is logical discrepancies, and the second is they are saying that they are unmapped. Now they have not disclosed, though their rules say that they must disclose on their website the names of the people to whom notices are being issued. They have not disclosed that. The notices do not mention the reason why they are being asked to come. And they have not disclosed what is the basis for flagging somebody as a logical discrepancy. It is totally opaque." "SIR matters are listed on Tuesday. This will also be listed.." , CJI Kant told Bhushan. The Delhi SIR generated significant attention after the draft electoral roll published on August 31, 2026 removed around 47.7 lakh names from the existing list of approximately 1.45 crore electors. The Election Commission said the enumeration phase resulted in forms being collected and uploaded for about 97.51 lakh electors. Those whose names are missing from the draft roll can file claims for inclusion between August 31 and September 30, along with the prescribed forms and supporting documents. The process also provides for verification and hearings where required. The Delhi SIR schedule has been revised three times. Under the latest timeline, the final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on November 4, 2026. In May, the Supreme Court of India upheld the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. A CJI Surya Kant led bench, in its verdict said SIR is not in conflict with the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Rules framed thereunder. "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 CJI read today in court. Court has further held that the object sought to be achieved by the SIR bears a direct nexus to the constitutional goal of free and fair elections. "Free and fair elections do not rest merely upon the mechanics of polling. They fundamentally depend upon the integrity, accuracy and credibility of the electoral rolls, which form the foundation of the democratic process," the bench also comprising Justices Bagchi and Pancholi has held. On the reasons given by the ECI to conduct the SIR, namely the passage of more than four decades since the last intensive revision, large-scale additions and deletions over the years, rapid urbanisation, migration and the resulting possibility of repetition and inaccuracies in the electoral rolls, the bench observed that these are clearly directed towards preserving that foundational integrity. "SIR meets 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. We hold that the impugned exercise was founded upon a legitimate and constitutionally grounded purpose, namely the restoratio