The Supreme Court on Friday clarified that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls cannot be a ground to delay local body elections in Andhra Pradesh, and that the polls should be conducted using the existing electoral rolls if the revised SIR rolls are not published before the election notification.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana passed the clarification while hearing a challenge to the Andhra Pradesh High Court's October 1 order directing the State Election Commission (SEC) and the State Government to expeditiously commence the process of holding elections to rural and urban local bodies, preferably within six weeks.

The bench noted that the Election Commission of India (ECI) had proposed to publish the final SIR electoral rolls on October 16, 2026, while the SEC had not yet notified the local body elections.

The Court clarified that the revised SIR electoral rolls would be used for the elections if the revision exercise was completed before the election notification. However, if the final SIR rolls were not published before the notification, the elections would be conducted using the existing electoral rolls in accordance with the applicable State laws.

Senior Advocate C Aryama Sundaram, appearing for the petitioner, argued that the High Court's direction to commence the election process within six weeks, based on the electoral rolls as of January 1, 2026, could not be sustained if the SIR exercise was completed in the meantime.

He submitted that the ECI had indicated that the revision process in Andhra Pradesh was in its final phase and that the final rolls would be published shortly.

During the hearing, Sundaram submitted that approximately 44 lakh voters had been removed from the rolls on the ground that they did not exist, while new voters had also been added. He said the ECI had indicated that the exercise would be completed by October 16.

The bench asked the SEC on whether it disputed that the revised electoral rolls would apply if the elections were notified after the publication of the final SIR list.

Senior Advocate K Parameshwar, for the SEC, submitted that elections had not yet been notified and that the electoral rolls in force would continue to apply until a fresh list was published by the ECI.

The bench examined the relevant provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act, 1994, and the Andhra Pradesh Municipalities Act, 1995, which govern the preparation of electoral rolls for local body elections.

Section 11 of the Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act provides for the preparation of electoral rolls with reference to a prescribed qualifying date and incorporates the electoral rolls prepared under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, as revised or amended up to the relevant qualifying date.

Sundaram argued that the corresponding provisions of the Representation of the People Act had to be read alongside the provisions governing subsequent revisions of electoral rolls. He submitted that if the SIR exercise was completed before the elections, the revised rolls should be used.

He also referred to the statutory provisions governing the inclusion of new voters and corrections to existing entries, arguing that the applicable electoral roll would depend on when the revision was completed and the election notification was issued.

The bench clarified that the existing electoral rolls would remain applicable until the ECI published the revised list, and that a revision undertaken during the election process would not automatically invalidate the roll already in force.

High Court Had Directed Elections Within Six Weeks

The proceedings arose from the Andhra Pradesh High Court's October 1 judgment in a batch of writ appeals and petitions concerning delays in local body elections, ward delimitation and the electoral rolls to be used for the polls.

The High Court noted that the terms of Andhra Pradesh's urban local bodies had expired on March 17, 2026, while those of Gram Panchayats had expired on April 2, 2026.

It directed the State Government and the SEC to expeditiously commence the election process, preferably within six weeks, and rejected the contention that local body elections should await completion of the ECI's SIR exercise.

The High Court had relied on the Supreme Court's judgment in Lakshmi Charan Sen v. A.K.M. Hassan Uzzaman, which held that an ongoing revision of electoral rolls does not, by itself, invalidate the existing electoral rolls or justify postponing elections.