ECI’s power to control elections is no carte blanche to rule on citizenship, petitioners assert

Supreme Court reviews petitions challenging Bihar's Special Intensive Revision, questioning Election Commission's authority on citizenship determinations.

The Supreme Court on Thursday (January 29, 2026) reserved for judgment a series of petitions challenging the constitutionality of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, which began in the State of Bihar.

Appearing before a Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, advocates Prashant Bhushan and Neha Rathi, for NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, submitted that the Election Commission has arbitrarily assumed powers to “determine citizenship”, overriding limitations clearly prescribed in parliamentary laws, rules, and its own manual without providing “any good reason” whatsoever.

“EC says its power to control over and conduct of elections under Article 324 is a carte blanche, not bound by any law, or rules, or any manual. EC says we can do what we want or how we want. But no authority can act arbitrarily or without any good reason,” Mr. Bhushan submitted.

The Supreme Court’s judgment on the constitutionality of the BIhar SIR would determine whether the exercise is extended to other States.

During the hearing, Mr. Bhushan compared the 2025 SIR with the conduct of the 2003 one, in which ECI officials took time to actually undertake a door-to-door survey of electors. He said the 2025 SIR was riddled with structural problems, including that the onus of proving eligiblity for the electoral roll was essentially on the electors.

He said the SIR has seen a massive reduction in electors, mostly among women and migrant workers who were either unable to fill up enumeration forms or submit documents for verification.