The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Election Commission to ensure transparency and smooth conduct of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu, ahead of the state Assembly elections due in April, while hearing a plea alleging large-scale deletion of voters.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing an urgent petition filed by DMK leader RS Bharti, who alleged that nearly 1.72 crore voters, about 88 per cent of the electorate, had been excluded citing “logical discrepancies”.
The court directed the Election Commission to publish the complete list of voters flagged under “logical discrepancies” at government offices and allow a 10-day window from the date of display for affected voters to submit documents to challenge their exclusion.
“We direct each Collector to follow directions issued by the EC and deploy personnel for the smooth conduct of the SIR,” the Bench said, adding that law enforcement agencies must ensure there was no disruption to the process.
“The DGP and Commissioner of Police are directed to ensure no law-and-order problem is created and ensure the exercise is done smoothly,” the court said, expressing hope that the Election Commission would adhere to the directions wherever SIR exercises were underway.
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The court is also hearing similar petitions related to electoral roll revisions in West Bengal and Kerala ahead of elections in those states. The order passed for Tamil Nadu mirrors directions issued earlier for Bengal.
The SIR exercise has remained contentious following its implementation in Bihar last year, where around 47 lakh names were removed from voter lists shortly before Assembly elections, triggering allegations of electoral manipulation.
Opposition parties and civil society groups have alleged that voter list revisions are being misused to influence electoral outcomes, claims that have been denied by both the Election Commission and the BJP.
In Tamil Nadu, over 97 lakh names were reportedly removed during the first round of revisions, reducing the number of registered voters from 6.41 crore to 5.43 crore. The window for filing appeals against exclusion had closed on January 18, following earlier court directions.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court extended deadlines for completion of SIR exercises in West Bengal and four other states, including Rajasthan, pushing the last date for claims and objections to January 19.
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