'Infructuous': Supreme Court Disposes Of Plea Seeking SIR In Assam Instead Of Special Revision Of Electoral Rolls

The Supreme Court today disposed of as infructuous a writ petition challenging ECI's decision to conduct a “Special Revision” of electoral rolls in Assam instead of a “Special Intensive Revision” ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.

A bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M Pancholi passed the order, after hearing Senior Advocate Vijay Hansaria (for petitioner) and Senior Advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu (for ECI).

During the hearing, Hansaria argued that the only reason given by ECI for not conducting SIR in Assam is that there is NRC (National Register of Citizens) in the state, which is being monitored by the Supreme Court. However, there is no case pending as such. Naidu, on the other hand, informed that the exercise of revision of the voter list in Assam is already complete and therefore the case has been rendered infructuous.

Disposed of the matter, the CJI remarked, "Probably in light of the legislative and judicial regime, Election Commission may not be empowered now to declare a particular person as a Foreigner which the Tribunal has unless given a finding...".

To recap, the petition was filed by Mrinal Kumar Choudhury, former President of the Gauhati High Court Bar Association. It alleged that while States such as Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Goa and UTs including Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Puducherry were undergoing Special Intensive Revision, Assam had been singled out for a less rigorous process.

According to the plea, Special Revision did not require electors to submit documents proving citizenship, age or residence. In contrast, Special Intensive Revision mandated production of documents to justify inclusion in the voter list. The petitioner argued that given Assam's history of large-scale illegal immigration, the State required stricter verification.

The petition relied on earlier official assessments, including the 1997 report of Assam Governor Lt. Gen. S. K. Sinha and statements of former Union Home Minister Indrajit Gupta regarding the presence of 40 to 50 lakh illegal immigrants in the State. It also cited Supreme Court observations in the Sarbananda Sonowal cases and litigation concerning Section 6A of the Citizenship Act.

The petition also highlighted sharp demographic changes in Assam and argued that failing to conduct Special Intensive Revision would allow ineligible voters, including illegal immigrants, to remain on the rolls, potentially affecting the outcome of the upcoming Assembly elections.

Case Title: MRINAL KUMAR CHOUDHURY v. ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA, W.P.(C) No. 1191/2025