The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls ordered by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in Tamil Nadu..The petition, filed by RS Bharathi, Organising Secretary of the DMK and former Rajya Sabha member, has sought quashing of the ECI’s orders dated October 27 which extended the SIR to Tamil Nadu based on earlier guidelines issued on June 24 this year..The DMK has argued that the orders are unconstitutional, beyond the powers of the Election Commission, and contrary to the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (ROPA) and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. According to the petition, the SIR violates Articles 14, 19, 21, 325 and 326 of the Constitution and could result in the mass disenfranchisement of genuine voters.As per the plea, Tamil Nadu already completed a Special Summary Revision (SSR) between October 2024 and January 2025, during which the voter list was updated to include new electors and delete ineligible names. That list has been continuously updated since and does not warrant another full-scale verification.“There is neither necessity nor any exceptional reason to justify a de novo verification of such an extensive nature. The SIR amounts to a colourable exercise of power and is patently arbitrary, unreasonable and illegal,” the plea said..The petition traces the origin of the controversy to Bihar, where the ECI had first directed a Special Intensive Revision in June 2025. Multiple petitions, including those filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and the National Federation for Indian Women (NFIW), are already pending before the Supreme Court challenging that order.Despite those challenges being sub-judice, the ECI on October 27 2025 extended the SIR to other States and Union Territories, including Tamil Nadu..According to the DMK, the SIR guidelines empower the Election Commission to verify the citizenship status of individuals, a function that lies solely with the Union Government under the Citizenship Act, 1955.The plea says the orders even allow Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to refer suspected foreign nationals to the competent authority under the Citizenship Act, despite lacking legal or procedural safeguards for such referrals.As per the petition, the procedure prescribed under the SIR is not found in any statute or rule. It requires Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to conduct door-to-door verification, distribute and collect enumeration forms, and make recommendations on whether to include or exclude voters - steps that have no legal basis under ROPA or the 1960 Rules.The petition has also objected to the list of acceptable documents under the SIR. Commonly used IDs like ration cards, PAN cards, and voter ID cards have been excluded, while voters are asked to produce one of 13 specified documents, with Aadhaar added only after a Supreme Court order in the Bihar case.Further, the timeline prescribed for the SIR is “unrealistic and arbitrary,” requiring BLOs and EROs to conduct the entire enumeration, verification, and claims process within two months, coinciding with the monsoon and Pongal season in Tamil Nadu, DMK has contended..Further, there is lack of effective appeal and the schedule for claims, objections and appeals overlaps, making it impossible for wrongfully excluded voters to get relief before the publication of final rolls on February 7, 2026.“The statutory right to appeal under Section 24 of ROPA has been rendered nugatory in practice,” DMK has alleged..The plea has accordingly sought to quash the ECI’s orders dated June 24 and October 27 and also sought directions to restrain the Election Commission from proceeding with the SIR in Tamil Nadu.
