New Delhi / Chennai, Jan 30: The Supreme Court of India on Thursday issued key directions aimed at ensuring transparency and smooth conduct of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in April. The intervention came in response to a petition by DMK leader R.S. Bharathi, who raised concerns over widespread deletions from the voter list during the revision exercise.A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to publish the full list of voters marked with “logical discrepancies” in government offices across the state — including panchayat bhavans, taluka offices and ward offices — and allow affected individuals at least 10 days to submit supporting documents to challenge their exclusion. The court noted that displaying names publicly and providing an opportunity for appeal are crucial to upholding electoral fairness and transparency. It also instructed district collectors to deploy adequate personnel to facilitate the process, and called on senior police officials to ensure there are no law‑and‑order issues during the exercise.
The SIR — a detailed revision process of voter rolls that includes verification of existing entries and deletion of ineligible names — has been controversial, especially after similar exercises in other states such as Bihar led to the removal of large numbers of voters shortly before elections. Opposition parties and activists have criticised the process as lacking legal basis and potentially disenfranchising legitimate voters, a charge both the ECI and the BJP have denied. The Supreme Court’s latest order seeks to strike a balance by safeguarding procedural fairness while allowing the revision to continue ahead of the polls.