SIR is illegal and needs to be reversed: former CEC Quraishi

1. At a Glance

• Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is the Election Commission of India's (ECI) house-to-house re-verification of electoral rolls. ECI acts under Article 324 and Section 21, RP Act 1950 [1][2].
• On 23 Sept 2026, former CEC S.Y. Quraishi called SIR "illegal" and said it "needs to be reversed" [6]. This runs against a court examination cited in the search results, which found SIR within ECI's statutory mandate [1].
• Opposition MPs link SIR to delimitation, saying both are tailored to favour the BJP. This is a political claim, not an established fact [6].
• Why it matters: it bears on electoral integrity, ECI's autonomy, federal representation and citizenship-linked voter verification.

2. Why in the News

• Quraishi made the remark on Wed 23 Sept 2026 at the New Delhi launch of The Delimitation Debate: The Union and its Units (The Hindu Group). The book has essays on representation, federalism and demographic change [6].
• John Brittas (CPI-M) said SIR and delimitation are interlinked and tailored to help the BJP win [6].
• Jairam Ramesh (Congress) said the government has not prorogued the Monsoon Session, because it plans to bring the Bills around 11 Oct [6].
• Context: three Bills were introduced in Lok Sabha on 16 Apr 2026. They are the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, the Delimitation Bill and the UT Laws (Amendment) Bill [4]. They increase Lok Sabha's size, seek delimitation on the 2011 census and tie women's reservation to that delimitation [4].

3. Background & Evolution

• SIR mechanics: BLO house-to-house enumeration, enumeration forms, a draft roll, a claims-and-objections window, then a final roll after verification [1].
• Stated objective: no eligible citizen left out, no ineligible person included [1].
• Phasing: Bihar SIR came first and was reported completed [1]. Phase II covered 9 States and 3 UTs [1]. Phase III also exists [1].
• Delimitation freeze: the 42nd Amendment (1976) froze seats on the 1971 census. The 84th Amendment (2001) extended the freeze until the first census after 2026 [3]. The provisos to Articles 82 and 170(3) carry the freeze [3]. The rationale was to reward population stabilisation [3].
• Delimitation Act, 2002 is the current statute [3].

4. Core Static Facts

Item	Fact
SIR constitutional basis	Art. 324 (superintendence, direction and control of elections) [1]
SIR statutory basis	Sec. 21, RP Act 1950 (preparation and revision of rolls by qualifying date) [2]
Field functionaries	Booth Level Officers (BLOs) [1]
Freeze on seats	42nd Amendment 1976, extended by the 84th Amendment 2001 [3]
Freeze articles	Provisos to Arts. 82 and 170(3) [3]
2026 Bills	Constitution (131st Amendment), Delimitation, UT Laws (Amendment); introduced 16 Apr 2026 [4]

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Legal / Constitutional

• SIR's basis is Art. 324 plus Sec. 21 [1][2]. The cited court examination upheld it as within ECI's mandate [1].
• Quraishi's claim of illegality is an expert opinion, not a judicial finding [6].
• Delimitation changes need constitutional amendment, since they touch the provisos to Arts. 82 and 170 [3][4].

Ethical / Governance

• Opposition alleges partisan design [6]. ECI's stated safeguard is that the process runs in phases with multiple protections for eligible voters [1].
• The core tension is roll accuracy against the risk of exclusion.

Federalism

• The freeze was meant to reward states that stabilised population [3]. Delimitation on 2011 data reopens the question of how seats are shared between states [4][6].

Administrative

• Enumeration is BLO-driven, so it is labour-intensive and time-bound. It moves through phases by State and UT [1].

6. Recent Developments (last 12-18 months)

• Bihar SIR completed [1]. It began with ECI's announcement of the Bihar revision [1].
• SIR Phase II in 9 States and 3 UTs [1].
• SIR Phase III notified by PIB [1].
• 16 Apr 2026: the delimitation Bills were introduced in Lok Sabha [4]. The Home Minister replied to the debate in Lok Sabha [5].
• 23 Sept 2026: Quraishi's remarks and the book launch [6].
• Expected around 11 Oct 2026: the government plans to bring the Bills, per Ramesh [6].

7. Prelims Hooks

• SIR is directed by ECI under Art. 324 and Sec. 21, RP Act 1950 [1].
• Sec. 21 RP Act 1950 deals with preparation and revision of electoral rolls [2].
• BLOs do the house-to-house enumeration in SIR [1].
• The 42nd Amendment (1976) froze Lok Sabha and Assembly seats on the 1971 census [3].
• The 84th Amendment (2001) extended the freeze to the first census after 2026 [3].
• The freeze is in the provisos to Arts. 82 and 170(3) [3].
• The Delimitation Act, 2002 is the current delimitation statute [3].
• Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 was introduced on 16 Apr 2026 [4].
• The 2026 Bills seek delimitation on the 2011 census [4].
• S.Y. Quraishi is a former CEC [6].
• The Bihar SIR was the first SIR phase covered in the sources [1].

8. What the Court Allowed and What It Did Not Settle

• The Court upheld ECI's power, not every step of the method
• The Supreme Court held that SIR advances free and fair elections and is within ECI's power [7].
• But during the Bihar hearings the Court also said it would scrap SIR if illegality was found in the methodology [9].

• So "ECI may do SIR" and "ECI did SIR correctly" are two different questions. Quraishi's attack is on the second one [6].

• The real fight is over who must prove citizenship

• In Lal Babu Hussain v. Union of India (1995), the Court held the burden of proving citizenship falls on a new applicant, not on someone already on the roll [8].
• In Inderjit Barua v. ECI (1985), being on the electoral roll was itself treated as strong proof, and the person objecting had to disprove it [8].

• SIR asks the existing voter to fill an enumeration form and produce documents. Critics say this flips those rulings — the voter now has to prove himself [8].

• Aadhaar had to be forced in

• ECI told the Court that Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship [8].
• The Court agreed Aadhaar is not final proof, but still directed ECI to accept it as the 12th document, subject to verification [8].
• Point to remember: the widest-held ID in India was not on ECI's original list. It entered only by court order [8].

9. Where a Genuine Voter Actually Falls Off the Roll

• The "untraceable" category is the weak joint
• ECI deletes names under four heads: death, permanent shifting, duplicate entry, and untraceable despite repeated visits [1].
• The first three can be checked against a record. "Untraceable" rests only on the BLO's visit notes [1].

• A migrant worker away for the season, or a family locked out during two-three BLO visits, looks exactly like an ineligible entry [1].

• The form itself is a filter

• In Court, it was argued that many electors are illiterate, and filling forms is not the elector's job. If they cannot fill it, they drop off [8].

• So the burden lands hardest on the poorest voters — the ones least able to file Form 6 to get back in [1][8].

• Getting back in is harder than staying in

• Restoration runs through claims and objections (Forms 6, 7, 8) and then an appeal to the District officer [1].

• That means travel, papers and a deadline. A voter who never learns his name was cut simply misses the window [1].

• ADR's objection on documents

• ADR called ECI's refusal to accept Aadhaar as proof in Bihar "absurd", because it is the one document most poor voters actually hold [9].

10. The Seats the South Loses if 2011 Data Is Used

• This is the real reason the Opposition links SIR and delimitation

• Delimitation on the 2011 census, keeping the total seats unchanged, shifts seats from south to north [3].

• The numbers, as PRS sets them out [3]

• Tamil Nadu: 39 → 32. Kerala: 20 → 15.
• Uttar Pradesh: 80 → 89. Bihar: 40 → 46. Rajasthan: 25 → 30.

• States that controlled their population lose weight in the Lok Sabha. That is the opposite of the reason the freeze was created [3].

• The Bills also remove the fixed rule

• Articles 81 and 82 originally required delimitation after every census, using the latest census [3].
• Under the new Bills, Parliament decides by law when delimitation happens and which census it uses [3].

• So the timing stops being automatic and becomes a political choice. That is a bigger change than the seat numbers [3].

• Women's reservation is the sweetener

• The 106th Amendment tied women's reservation to the first census after the 2023 Act [3].
• Delimitation on 2027 census data could not finish before the 2029 election, so the Bills drop that link and deliver women's reservation through the 2011-based exercise instead [3][4].
• Result: a state opposing the seat shift must also appear to be delaying women's reservation.

11. The Strongest Case in Favour of SIR

• Rolls really do rot, and nobody else cleans them
• Voters die, marry, and move city. Without house-to-house checking, dead and duplicate entries stay on the list for years [1].

• Duplicate entries in two states are exactly what a summary revision at the same address cannot catch [1].

• The Court accepted this reasoning

• The Supreme Court said the exercise serves the constitutional goal of free and fair elections [7].

• A roll with inflated entries harms voters too — one person's extra vote dilutes everyone else's [7].

• The safeguards are real on paper

• Minimum two-three BLO visits before anyone is marked untraceable; reasons recorded in a set format under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 [1].

• Draft roll published, statutory claims-and-objections window, appeal to the District officer [1].

• What the defence still does not answer

• Every safeguard depends on the voter knowing he was deleted, within the window [1].
• And it does not explain why Aadhaar had to be added by the Court rather than by ECI [8].

12. What ECI Could Do to Take the Sting Out of the Charge

• ECI should publish deletions name-wise with the reason attached
• Right now the four deletion reasons exist as categories, not as a public list a voter or party can check [1].

• A booth-wise, reason-wise list downloadable before the objection window closes lets parties and NGOs like ADR find wrong deletions instead of arguing about totals [1][9].

• ECI should treat "untraceable" as the last resort, with a written order

• Follow its own rule of two-three visits, but record a speaking order — the reason in writing, served at the address, as the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 process requires [1].

• A migrant then has a paper to answer, not a silent removal.

• Accept Aadhaar up front, as the Court directed

• The Supreme Court ordered Aadhaar in as the 12th document, with verification [8].

• ECI should build that into the SIR form for Phase II and Phase III from the start, so poor voters do not have to litigate for it each phase [1][8].

• Parliament should keep the delimitation trigger in the Constitution

• The Bills hand Parliament the power to choose the timing and the census [3].

• Writing a fixed rule into Articles 81 and 82 — as they originally worked — removes the suspicion that the ruling party picks the census that suits it [3].

• Separate the two exercises in time

• SIR touches voter lists; delimitation touches seats [1][3].
• Running both in the same season is what makes the Opposition's linkage believable [6]. Finishing and auditing SIR before the delimitation Bills are taken up would answer that at almost no cost.

13. Anchors for Answers

• Data: Delimitation on the 2011 census with total seats unchanged — Tamil Nadu 39→32, Kerala 20→15, UP 80→89, Bihar 40→46, Rajasthan 25→30 [3]
• Report/Committee: PRS Legislative Research, Issues for Consideration on the Delimitation Bills, 2026 [3]
• Law/Case: Art. 324 and Sec. 21, RP Act 1950 (SIR's basis) [1][2]; Lal Babu Hussain v. Union of India (1995) — burden of citizenship proof is on the new applicant, not the existing voter; Inderjit Barua v. ECI (1985) — presence on the roll is strong proof, the objector must disprove it [8]
• Law/Case: Supreme Court (2026) upheld ECI's power to conduct SIR as advancing free and fair elections [7]; earlier warned it would scrap SIR if the methodology was found illegal [9]
• Law/Case: Supreme Court direction to accept Aadhaar as the 12th document, subject to verification; Aadhaar is not final proof of citizenship [8]
• Scheme: Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 — Forms 6, 7 and 8 and appeal to the District officer are the only route back onto the roll after deletion [1]

14. Mains Relevance

• GS-II: Salient features of the RP Act; appointment, powers and functions of constitutional bodies; ECI; federal structure.
• GS-IV: Integrity and non-partisanship in public institutions.
• Stems:
• SIR of electoral rolls raises the twin risks of exclusion and inclusion error. Examine ECI's powers under Art. 324. (15 marks)
• Delimitation on 2011 census versus the 1971 freeze: discuss federal implications. (250 words)
• Can electoral-roll revision be reconciled with universal adult franchise? Discuss. (15 marks)

15. Related Topics to Study Next

• Art. 324 and the ECI's plenary powers: the basis for SIR.
• RP Act 1950 and 1951: rolls versus conduct of elections.
• Delimitation Commission and the Delimitation Act 2002: the mechanism.
• 42nd and 84th Amendments: the freeze history.
• Women's reservation: now linked to delimitation.
• Citizenship and voter eligibility: the qualifying question in roll revision.
• North-South representation debate: the population-stabilisation rationale.

16. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• SIR versus "Summary Revision": SIR is intensive and house-to-house. Don't treat them as interchangeable.
• Freeze year: the 42nd Amendment imposed it (1976) and the 84th extended it (2001). Don't credit the 84th with the original freeze [3].
• Roll versus seats: SIR concerns voter lists, and delimitation concerns constituency boundaries and seats. Opposition links them politically, but they are legally distinct [1][3][6].
• Quraishi's "illegal" claim is an opinion, and the court examination found SIR within ECI's mandate [1][6].
• Source caveat: the article text available was truncated after Ramesh's remark. The Hindu and Indian Express searches were blocked, so the Quraishi details rest on the supplied excerpt only.