SC to hear DMK's plea challenging SIR of TN voters list on Nov 11

New Delhi, Nov 7 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear, on November 11, a plea filed by Tamil Nadu's ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) challenging the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) order directing a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai agreed to hear the writ petition, filed by party leader and former Rajya Sabha MP R.S. Bharathi, on Tuesday after it was mentioned for urgent listing.

The plea filed under Article 32 of the Constitution has sought to quash the ECI’s October 27 order, which extended the SIR exercise -- first initiated in Bihar in June -- to several states, including Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Kerala, and Uttar Pradesh.

"The SIR orders, if not set aside, will arbitrarily and without due process disenfranchise lakhs of voters from electing their representatives, thereby disrupting free and fair elections and democracy in the country, which are part of the basic structure of the Constitution," the petition stated.

It added that the ECI’s decision violates Articles 14, 19, 21, 325 and 326 of the Constitution as well as provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.

Calling the exercise "a colourable exercise of power", the petition contended that the SIR amounts to a "de facto National Register of Citizens (NRC)" by imposing "citizenship-like burdens of proof" on registered voters.

"The Respondent (Election Commission of India) does not have the power to assess the citizenship of individuals… By imposing citizenship-like burdens of proof, the SIR appears to be acting beyond its statutory purpose, effectively functioning as a de facto NRC," the plea contended.

It added that Tamil Nadu had already completed a Special Summary Revision of its electoral rolls in January 2025, which was "fit and sufficient for use in the forthcoming Assembly elections".

Directing a fresh de novo verification, the plea said, is "unnecessary, arbitrary and lacks statutory justification".

It also referred to alleged flaws in Bihar’s ongoing SIR exercise, where “65.2 lakh existing electors were deleted” from the rolls.

"If Bihar is taken as an example, there can be no doubt that there will be a mass exclusion of voters even in Tamil Nadu," the plea added.

Calling for judicial intervention, the petition urged the Supreme Court to quash the ECI’s October 27 directive as unconstitutional.

On Friday, a Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant agreed to hear next week a clutch of petitions challenging the SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar after advocate Prashant Bhushan mentioned the matter.

--IANS

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