AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has approached the Supreme Court challenging the manner in which the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is being conducted.
Advocate Nizamuddin Pasha mentioned the petition before a bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi on Wednesday, October 14, seeking to have it heard alongside similar petitions scheduled for Thursday, October 15.
According to LiveLaw, the Chief Justice said the court would examine the request and list the petition with connected matters.
The petition adds to a series of legal challenges to the Election Commission of India’s SIR exercise, which has faced criticism over the revision of electoral rolls and alleged voter deletions.
Rahul Gandhi, Other Opposition Leaders Also Challenge SIR
Owaisi’s move comes after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders approached the Supreme Court challenging the exercise.
A petition filed by Rahul Gandhi and 10 other Opposition leaders seeks a halt to the SIR process and challenges what they describe as unilateral decisions by the Election Commission.
Several other petitions concerning the revision and the deletion of voters’ names are also pending before the Supreme Court. The court has agreed to hear a batch of related matters together.
Separately, Advocate Prashant Bhushan mentioned an application concerning the Delhi SIR exercise and the requirement for voters whose names were deleted to submit Form 6, which is generally used to apply for inclusion in electoral rolls. The hearing of that application was advanced to October 28.
What Is the Special Intensive Revision?
The Special Intensive Revision is a voter verification exercise conducted by the Election Commission of India to revise electoral rolls through intensive verification.
The exercise has faced legal challenges over the documents required for verification, the pace of the process and concerns about eligible voters being excluded from electoral rolls.
The Supreme Court has heard challenges to the exercise since it was introduced in Bihar in 2025. Subsequent phases covering other states and Union Territories have led to further petitions.
Owaisi’s petition is expected to be considered alongside related cases. The specific grounds of his challenge and the reliefs sought were not detailed in the information available when the petition was mentioned before the court.
