Supreme Court Upholds Bihar's Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls
On May 28, 2026, the Supreme Court upheld the Election Commission of India's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, terming it an exercise that strengthens free and fair elections. The Court held that the ECI is empowered to verify citizenship status when including or excluding names. It directed the poll body to refer names of Bihar electors purged from the rolls to the Centre for adjudication under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Key Facts & Details
8 points- 1SC upheld ECI's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar voter rolls
- 2Court affirmed ECI's power to verify citizenship for inclusion/exclusion
- 3Names struck off the rolls to be referred to Centre under the Citizenship Act, 1955
Deep Dive
- +Article 324 of the Constitution vests superintendence of elections in the ECI
- +Article 325 mandates a single general electoral roll for every constituency without discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste or sex
- +Article 326 prescribes universal adult suffrage at 18 years
- +The Representation of the People Act, 1950 governs the preparation and revision of electoral rolls
- +The Citizenship Act, 1955 lays out modes of acquiring and determining Indian citizenship — relevant when name purges raise citizenship questions
Exam Focus
Likely MCQ: Which constitutional article empowers the Election Commission with superintendence and control of elections? → Answer: Article 324
Related Topics
Exam Relevance & Angle
High-frequency topic for UPSC, SSC, and Banking exams under Polity & Governance, Election Commission, and Constitutional Articles.
Target Exams
Background & Context
The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutional body created under Article 324 of the Constitution. It conducts and supervises elections to the Parliament, State Legislatures, the Office of the President and Vice-President. The ECI is a multi-member body with one Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners.
Electoral rolls are prepared and maintained under the Representation of the People Act, 1950. A Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is an enhanced exercise involving door-to-door verification, deletion of dead, shifted or duplicate entries, and addition of new voters — going beyond the routine annual summary revision.
The Citizenship Act, 1955 specifies five modes of acquiring Indian citizenship: by birth, descent, registration, naturalisation and incorporation of territory. The Act has been amended in 1986, 2003, 2005, 2015 and 2019 (the last being the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019).
Related GK Concepts
Must KnowTest Yourself
1 / 3Which Article of the Indian Constitution provides for the superintendence, direction and control of elections by the Election Commission?
This topic is important for:
