IndiaPosted at: Oct 2 2026 11:35PM


Former SC, HC judges form independent panel to examine ECI’s electoral roll SIR exercise

New Delhi, Oct 2 (UNI) An independent five-member commission comprising former Supreme Court and High Court judges has been constituted to examine the constitutional and statutory validity, methodology and impact of the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, amid growing concerns over the exercise and its consequences for eligible voters.
The Lawyers Association for Constitution (LAFC), which announced the formation of the panel on Friday, said the commission would function autonomously and undertake an independent inquiry into whether the SIR process had adequately protected the voting rights of eligible citizens while ensuring the exclusion of ineligible entries.
The commission will be chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice Madan B Lokur.
Its other members are former Supreme Court judge Justice A K Patnaik, former Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Justice Badar Durrez Ahmad, former Delhi High Court judge Justice Rekha Sharma and former Patna High Court judge Justice Anjana Prakash.
According to the LAFC, the inquiry has been instituted in response to concerns raised by citizens and civil society organisations over the design, implementation and consequences of the SIR exercise.
The commission will examine the process from constitutional, statutory, administrative and empirical perspectives. A central component of the inquiry will be a series of public hearings.
The LAFC said full and regional benches of the commission would travel to different parts of the country to hear directly from citizens affected by the revision, as well as civil society representatives and experts.
The commission will also undertake field-based and empirical research into changes in electoral rolls.
A dedicated Research Wing will collate and analyse data relating to additions and deletions of voters across the country and place its findings before the commission for consideration.
Alongside the empirical exercise, a Legal Support Team will scrutinise the laws, notifications, rules and verification procedures governing the SIR process.
The objective, according to the LAFC, will be to determine whether the procedures adopted during the revision complied with constitutional safeguards and applicable statutory provisions.
The commission has also been provided legal and administrative support by a group of senior lawyers and legal practitioners.
The LAFC named Kapil Sibal, Prashant Bhushan, Chander Uday Singh, Prashanto Chandra Sen, Raju Ramachandran, Rebecca Mammen John, Warisha Farasat and Vrinda Grover among those who would provide strategic legal advice to the inquiry.
The organisation said the final findings and recommendations would remain solely the responsibility of the judicial members of the commission. A coordination committee and secretariat comprising civic representatives will provide operational assistance, with the secretariat being housed at the LAFC.
Emphasising the proposed commission’s independence, the LAFC said neither the sponsoring organisations nor the supporting committees would exercise any influence over the judges’ substantive decisions, conclusions or recommendations.
The initiative comes against the backdrop of an intensifying political and legal debate over the Election Commission’s SIR exercise, under which electoral rolls are being subjected to a detailed verification process.
Opposition parties and civil society groups have raised concerns about the possibility of eligible voters being left out of the rolls, while the Election Commission has maintained that the revision is intended to ensure that electoral rolls contain eligible voters and exclude ineligible entries.
The commission’s inquiry is expected to examine both sides of that issue through documentary scrutiny, field research and direct testimony from affected persons rather than relying solely on institutional or political claims.
The LAFC said the commission would work on an intensive schedule and aims to make its final report public by December 2026.
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Tags: #Former SC# HC judges form independent panel to examine ECI’s electoral roll SIR exercise
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