Tamil Nadu SIR Begins Tomorrow, Unlike Annual Survey Even Existing Voters Have To Submit Enumeration Forms: ECI Tells Madras High Court

The Election Commission of India (ECI), on Monday (November 3) informed the Madras High Court that a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was different from a Special Summary Revision (SSR) being carried out by the ECI annually for adding/deleting new voters.ECI submitted that unlike SSR, in the SIR all existing voters were required to submit the enumeration form and through this process the ECI seeks to ensure that no one was left out of the electoral rolls and that no ineligible person was included in the list. The submissions were made before a bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan which was hearing petitions seeking directions to the State Election Commission to remove disqualified, duplicate names, names of deceased or migrated persons from the electoral roll in T. Nagar and Tambaram constituencies before the 2026 General Elections. On October 24, the ECI had informed the bench that the SIR of Tamil Nadu electoral rolls would begin in a week. However, today, the standing counsel for the ECI, Niranjan Rajagopal, said that the enumeration process of the SIR would begin from tomorrow, on November 4th (Tuesday). Rajagopal explained that the special intensive revision process would start in 12 states, including the state of Tamil Nadu. He informed that each voter will be given an enumeration form, which could either be downloaded from the official ECI website or obtained from the Booth Level Officers (BLO). He added that the BLOs would collect one copy of the enumeration form and sign an acknowledgement in the copy retained by the voter. He further submitted that the SIR process was different from the SSR, where a voter who sought to be included or excluded from the list was to make an application. He added that in the SIR, all existing voters were required to submit the enumeration form. He submitted that through the process, the ECI aimed to ensure that no one was left out of the electoral rolls and that no ineligible person was included in the list. He also pointed out that the revision was conducted as per the procedure laid down under Sections 21,22,23, and 24 of the Representation of the Peoples Act 1950. Rajagopal also informed the bench that the draft electoral roll would be published by December 9 and all objections or claims against exclusions would be entertained till January 8, 2026. He submitted that inquiries into these claims and objections will be concluded by January end and the final voters' list will be published by February 7, 2026. The court took note of the submissions and adjourned the case to November 13, after noting that another similar petition was yet to be numbered. Case Title: CR Vinayagam v. The Chief Election Commissioner and Others Case No: WP 40129 of 2025

Tamil Nadu SIR Begins Tomorrow, Unlike Annual Survey Even Existing Voters Have To Submit Enumeration Forms: ECI Tells Madras High Court

Upasana Sajeev

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