1. What is Special Intensive Revision?
Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is a process through which the
Election Commission undertakes a fresh, detailed verification of
electoral rolls in a particular State or area.
The basic objective is to ensure that:
every eligible Indian citizen is included in the electoral roll;
no ineligible person is included;
duplicate entries are removed;
deceased, shifted or otherwise ineligible voters are removed; and
the electoral roll accurately reflects the population entitled to vote.
It is therefore essentially a voter-list verification and correction
exercise.
2. Why is it called "Intensive"?
An ordinary revision generally works with the existing electoral roll and
updates it by adding, deleting or correcting entries.
An intensive revision, however, involves a more fundamental
verification of the electoral roll. Electoral authorities may require voters to
provide information/documents establishing their eligibility and then
conduct verification through the electoral machinery.
In simple terms:
Ordinary revision = update the existing voter list.
Intensive revision = undertake a deeper verification of the voter
list.
3. Constitutional and legal basis
The Election Commission's power over electoral rolls primarily flows from
Article 324 of the Constitution, which vests the superintendence,
direction and control of elections in the Election Commission.
The more specific statutory framework comes from the Representation
of the People Act, 1950.
Important provisions include:
Section 21, Representation of the People Act, 1950 – deals
with preparation and revision of electoral rolls.
Section 19 – lays down qualifications for registration in an electoral
roll.
Section 20 – deals with the meaning of "ordinarily resident."
Section 23 – deals with inclusion of names in electoral rolls.
Section 22 – provides for correction and deletion of entries in
certain circumstances.
Thus, SIR is not a completely independent electoral mechanism created
outside the statutory framework. It operates within the constitutional and
statutory framework governing electoral rolls.
4. Who is entitled to be registered as a voter?
The basic qualification is found in Section 19 of the Representation of
the People Act, 1950.
A person must generally:
1. be 18 years of age or above;
2. be a citizen of India;
3. be ordinarily resident in the relevant constituency; and
4. not be disqualified under the law.
Therefore, simply residing in India is not sufficient. Citizenship is an
important requirement for registration as an elector.
5. How does SIR work?
Broadly, the process can be understood in stages:
Existing electoral roll
↓
House-to-house/enumeration verification
↓
Voters submit enumeration forms/details
↓
Electoral authorities verify eligibility
↓
Draft electoral roll published
↓
Claims and objections invited
↓
Verification/hearing where required
↓
Final electoral roll published
The exact procedure and documentation can vary depending on the
particular SIR exercise and the directions issued by the Election
Commission.
6. Role of Booth Level Officers
A very important part of the process is the role of Booth Level Officers
(BLOs).
BLOs work at the grassroots level and assist in:
verification of voters;
distribution/collection of enumeration forms;
identifying duplicate entries;
identifying voters who have shifted;
identifying deceased voters;
assisting voters in correcting electoral-roll details; and
carrying out field-level verification.
Thus, SIR is not merely an online exercise. It involves substantial ground-
level electoral administration.
7. What happens if a person's name is missing?
A person whose name does not appear in the electoral roll can generally
apply for inclusion.
The important point is that the electoral roll is what determines whether a
person can exercise the vote in an election.
Therefore:
Citizenship by itself does not mean that a person can simply walk
into a polling station and vote. The person's name must be
appropriately included in the electoral roll.
8. What happens if someone's name is wrongly included?
The electoral system also provides mechanisms for challenging an
incorrect entry.
For example, if a person:
is not eligible,
is deceased,
has permanently shifted,
has duplicate registrations, or
otherwise does not satisfy the requirements,
the entry may be subject to deletion following the prescribed procedure.
This is one of the major purposes of electoral-roll revision.
9. Why has SIR become controversial?
The controversy arises because electoral-roll revision involves a
tension between two objectives:
Objective 1 — Electoral integrity
The Election Commission wants to ensure:
No person who is not legally entitled to vote should be on the
electoral roll.
This is important because inaccurate electoral rolls can lead to:
duplicate voting;
impersonation;
fraudulent voting;
wrongful inclusion of ineligible persons; and
distortion of the electoral process.
Objective 2 — Protection of genuine voters
At the same time:
No genuine eligible voter should lose their right to vote merely
because of an administrative or documentation problem.
This is where the controversy becomes significant.
If the verification process requires voters to produce documents that some
genuine citizens do not possess, there can be concerns about
disenfranchisement.