Pan India SIR: an electoral roll revolution
Pan India SIR: In a significant development, after Bihar, the Election Commission of India has decided to conduct a Pan-India Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. The process will be carried out in multiple phases, with each phase lasting around three months.
Sources indicate that the nationwide SIR will first be implemented in those states and union territories where legislative assembly elections are due in 2026, such as West Bengal, Assam, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. This will be the first-ever SIR conducted across all states and union territories of India.
The SIR was kickstarted with the order issued by the Election Commission on June 24, 2025, aiming to update the electoral rolls from scratch, moving beyond the usual annual and pre-election summary revisions that have been conducted for decades. As Bihar was heading toward elections, it became the first state to experiment with this exercise.
What Happened in Bihar?
According to The Times of India, as of June 2025, there were 7.89 crore electors in Bihar. The first draft roll, released on August 1, revealed that 65 lakh voters had been removed from the list, reducing the count to 7.26 crore, about 6% fewer voters than before. The names deleted included deceased individuals, displaced persons, and voters living abroad. During the claims and objections period, a further 3.66 lakh voters were removed, bringing total deletions to 68.5 lakh. Meanwhile, 21.53 lakh new eligible voters were added, bringing the final count to 7.42 crore electors in Bihar.
What Documents Need to Be Submitted for Verification?
For those born before July 1, 1987, any of the 11 specified documents, such as an identity card issued before that date, birth certificate, Class 10 certificate, caste or domicile certificate, or land allotment certificate, can serve as proof of identity.
For individuals born between July 1, 1987, and 2004, proof of a parent’s certificate is mandatory.
Drawbacks of SIR
While SIR is intended to clean and authenticate the electoral rolls by adding and deleting names of electors, any mistake in the process can cause major dissatisfaction among the public.
It also raises crucial questions:
- What happens if someone lacks sufficient documents to prove their identity?
- If a person fails to provide a birth certificate or Class 10 marksheet, will their name be permanently removed from the voter list?
- Can they be reinstated later?
- What about those who have migrated to another state in search of employment- what documents can they present as proof?
While the bridge to a transparent system is being built, its aftermath remains unanswered. It is evident that while some political parties support this initiative as a step toward transparency and cleaner elections, others, including the Congress and the RJD, have criticized it, calling it a conspiracy aimed at disenfranchising the poor, Dalits, backward classes, and minorities. In Bihar alone, only 2.8% of people reportedly possessed birth certificates from 2001–2005, putting lakhs of voters at risk of being removed from the voter list. Only time will tell whether SIR becomes a milestone in electoral transparency or a cause of public unrest.
What is the view of ECI?
The election commission told the supreme court that only it has the power and authority to decide when the voter list will be updated and how it will be updated, which also means that no political parties, authority or any other government department has the right to interfere and make decisions in the matter. It denied all the allegations of disenfranchisement raised by opposition parties and activists against the Bihar ECI. It has also accused congress leader Rahul Gandhi ábsurd’ and demanded to provide a signed declaration under oath or apologise for his claims.
