UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Calcutta HC cancels leaves of judicial officers to assist SIR

Q1. With reference to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being conducted in 2025-26, consider the following statements that compare it with the routine Summary Revision: 1. Unlike the routine Summary Revision, which merely updates an existing roll, the SIR involves a comprehensive house-to-house enumeration before the draft roll is prepared. 2. Both the SIR and the Summary Revision derive their authority from Article 324 of the Constitution read with the Representation of the People Act, 1950. 3. The qualifying date fixed for the 2025-26 SIR was 1 January 2025. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Unlike the routine Summary Revision, which merely updates an existing roll, the SIR involves a comprehensive house-to-house enumeration before the draft roll is prepared.
  2. Both the SIR and the Summary Revision derive their authority from Article 324 of the Constitution read with the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
  3. The qualifying date fixed for the 2025-26 SIR was 1 January 2025.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q2. The Election Commission of India derives its power of superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls — under which it ordered the Special Intensive Revision that the Calcutta High Court mobilised judicial officers to support — primarily from which one of the following Articles of the Constitution?

  • A. Article 324
  • B. Article 326
  • C. Article 327
  • D. Article 329

Q3. In the context of the 2025-26 electoral roll exercise that prompted the Calcutta High Court to cancel judicial officers' leave, which one of the following best describes a 'Special Intensive Revision (SIR)'?

  • A. A comprehensive, intensive re-verification — typically house-to-house — that prepares the electoral roll afresh, going beyond the mere updation done in a routine revision
  • B. A revision that only adds the names of newly eligible voters and never deletes any existing entry from the roll
  • C. A revision undertaken solely by the State Election Commission exclusively for local body (panchayat and municipal) elections
  • D. A purely online, self-declaration drive in which the roll is revised only on voters' own applications without any field enumeration

Q4. As per the Election Commission of India's revised schedule, the 2025-26 Special Intensive Revision (SIR) — to whose disputed cases the Calcutta High Court directed judicial officers — was conducted in how many States/Union Territories?

  • A. 5
  • B. 6
  • C. 9
  • D. 12
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