New Delhi, Nov 4 (UNI) The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu, calling it a case of constitutional overreach that could result in a large-scale disenfranchisement of voters.
The petition, filed under Article 32, assails the ECI’s orders dated June 24, 2025, and October 27, 2025, which directed a fresh SIR exercise in Tamil Nadu despite the Special Summary Revision (SSR) having already been completed between October 2024 and January 6, 2025.
The updated rolls were published on January 6, 2025, and have been continuously maintained thereafter. The DMK contends that by ordering a new verification process introducing citizenship verification requirements for voters not on the 2003 roll, the ECI has exceeded its constitutional mandate under Article 324 and acted beyond the scope of the Representation of the People Act (RPA), 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. The petition argues that the ECI’s decision amounts to a colourable exercise of power, as Article 324 cannot override statutory provisions already governing electoral roll preparation.
The DMK points out that Section 28(3) of the RPA mandates that any new procedure must be formally notified in the Official Gazette and laid before Parliament a step that has not been followed for the SIR, rendering it without statutory force. The party asserts that no exceptional circumstance justifies such a massive re-verification process and that the move is arbitrary, unreasonable, and legally untenable.
The DMK has alleged that the SIR effectively converts the Election Commission into a “de facto National Register of Citizens (NRC)”, as it empowers officials to verify the citizenship of voters, a power exclusively vested in the union Government under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
By reversing the presumption of legitimacy attached to enrolled voters and placing on them the burden to prove citizenship through restricted documentation, the SIR, the petition says, “treats every voter as a suspect.” The party further claims that Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) can now refer “suspected foreign nationals” to authorities under the Citizenship Act, bypassing due process and constitutional safeguards.
The DMK’s petition highlights several irregularities in the SIR process, including, unrecognized forms, booth level officers (BLOs) conducting house-to-house verification using forms not authorised under the RPA or 1960 Rules.
Voters required to furnish documents from a limited list of 13 proofs (with Aadhaar added later on September 9, 2025), while common proofs such as Ration Cards, PAN Cards, and Voter IDs (EPIC) are excluded. The failure to submit documents or forms results in omission from the draft rolls, forcing voters to reapply through Form 6, treating them as “non-citizens” by default. BLOs can mark voters as absent, shifted, or duplicate based on neighbourhood inquiries, EROs have wide powers to recommend deletions without clear guidelines. Overlapping timelines for appeals (December 9, 2025, January 31, 2026) make redressal illusory.
The entire exercise is to conclude by February 7, 2026, despite holidays, monsoon disruptions, and the Pongal festival in Tamil Nadu, making compliance impractical. The DMK argues that these procedural flaws are bound to cause “confusion, uncertainty, and mass disenfranchisement,” similar to what was reportedly witnessed during a similar SIR in Bihar. The petition claims that the SIR violates Articles 10, 14, 19, 21, and 326 of the Constitution by infringing on equality, the right to vote, dignity, and due process.
It further asserts that the ECI’s unilateral imposition of a nationwide verification drive without consultation undermines the federal structure, reducing states to “mere implementing agencies” for centrally determined decisions. By failing to consider the realities of marginalized communities including migrants, women, youth, and the poor the new documentation requirements, the DMK says, discriminate against those least likely to possess the prescribed proofs.
The party also informed the Court that similar challenges to SIR orders in Bihar are already pending before the Supreme Court. The DMK has, therefore, urged the apex court to quash the ECI’s orders dated June 24 and October 27, 2025, and to declare the Special Intensive Revision unconstitutional, arbitrary, and without legal authority. The petition has been drawn by Advocate Saushriya Havelia, settled by Senior Advocate N.R. Elango, and filed by Advocate-on-Record Vivek Singh.
