SIR seeks to verify, not determine citizenship, says Election Commission; adds that a place in the electoral roll is a “qualified right”, according to eligibility parameters in the Constitution, Representation of the People Act
Even registered voters are required to “continuously fulfill” the essential condition of Indian citizenship, as laid out in Article 326 of the Constitution, to retain their place in the electoral roll, the Election Commission of India (ECI) told the Supreme Court on Tuesday (January 27, 2026), during its hearing on the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) exercise.
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Article 326 provides for adult suffrage, and requires that a person should be 18 years old, an Indian citizen, and not disqualified by law to be entitled to register as a voter.
“These are essential conditions. The fulfilment of these conditions is a continuous requirement. You cannot say once my name is entered, whether I lose eligibility or not, I am entitled to stay on in the electoral roll,” senior advocate Maninder Singh, for the ECI, submitted before a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
Verification, not determination
The Bench was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the constitutionality of the SIR exercise conducted in Bihar.
“The SIR is a verification exercise,” Mr. Singh argued
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enior advocate Dama Seshadhiri Naidu, also appearing for the ECI, said the SIR was not a determination of citizenship.
“An exercise to verify citizenship is different from a process determining citizenship,” he said.
He illustrated how young lawyers have their qualifications verified before becoming a member of the Bar bodies.
Mr. Naidu argued there was “not even one complaint of lapse in Bihar”. He sought to focus on the “collateral advantage” of the SIR, explaining how voter turnouts rose in 2025 after the door-to-door survey conducted for the exercise.
“It had aroused the interest of the common man. It drafted enthusiastic voters and weeded out the dead, duplicates in the electoral roll,” he submitted.
‘No added parameters’
Advocate Eklavya Dwivedi, for the ECI, wrapped up the ECI’s response to the petitions challenging the SIR, arguing that a place in the electoral roll was a “qualified right”.
“Without proof of qualification, no person can enter the electoral roll,” he submitted.
Mr. Dwivedi said the ECI had not added any further limitations to the conditions prescribed in the Constitution under Article 326, and in Sections 16 (disqualifications for registration in an electoral roll) and 19 (conditions of registration) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950..
“The limitations flow from Article 326 read with Sections 16 and 19. It is not the case that we have come up with a policy and increased the threshold of eligibility. We are verifying the eligibility parameters. It is not that we have asked you to prove the parameters in Article 326 along with additional parameters ‘X’ and ‘Y’. In the absence of additional limitations, there is no question of proportionality,” Mr. Dwivedi completed the counter-arguments for the ECI.