The Election Commission on Saturday said its key decisions on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls had been taken with the "unanimous approval" of all three commissioners, rejecting suggestions of differences within the poll panel over the exercise.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi attended the Commission's meeting at Nirvachan Sadan on Saturday.
The statement came days after The Indian Express reported on September 23 that Sandhu and Joshi had raised objections over several SIR-related decisions and orders, triggering a wider political row over the functioning of the poll panel.
The statement was the second from the poll panel on the issue. The earlier statement was issued on the day The Indian Express published its report. The report had also prompted opposition parties to demand CEC Gyanesh Kumar's removal and the scrapping of the SIR.
Addressing the issue, the Commission said a letter sent to the Cabinet Secretary was not related to any policy matter of the Commission or its IT division, but concerned the working of an officer on deputation to the ECI.
It said work redistribution orders issued by the concerned officer were not actually implemented after the orders of the two Election Commissioners and that oversight of the IT division by the Deputy Election Commissioner was "never actually withdrawn".
The clarification relates to a reported dispute over the allocation of responsibilities within the Commission. Work redistribution orders issued by an officer had changed the allocation of some responsibilities, including those relating to the IT division, but Sandhu and Joshi raised objections to the arrangement. The Commission said those work redistribution orders were not implemented after orders from the two Commissioners.
The Commission also maintained that the Deputy Election Commissioner's oversight of the IT division was "never actually withdrawn", countering any suggestion that the restructuring had removed that oversight.
The Commission also said the SIR order issued on June 24, 2025, covering all states and Union territories, beginning with Bihar and followed by West Bengal and 30 other states and UTs, was issued with the "unanimous approval" of the Commission.
The order was upheld by the Supreme Court on May 27, 2026, it said.
The schedule for SIR in 12 states and UTs issued on October 27, 2025, and that for 19 states and UTs issued on May 14, 2026, were also issued with the unanimous approval of the Commission, it said.
The Commission said SIR had already been completed in 20 states and UTs, including Bihar and West Bengal. The final number of electors will be known only after the final publication in the remaining 12 states of Phase III, it added.
The Commission announced changes to the process for people who have received notices during the ongoing SIR for being "unmapped" or having "logical discrepancies".
Under the revised procedure, booth-level officers will visit the homes of such people to collect documents and upload them on ECINet for consideration by the Electoral Registration Officer. Such people will not have to be called for a hearing before the ERO or AERO.
Only in exceptional circumstances, as decided by the ERO, will a hearing be held, preferably online. An adult member of the family can also be authorised by the elector to attend the hearing on their behalf, if required.
The Commission said facilities for online hearings would be strengthened.
District Election Officers have also been directed to create adequate help desks and hold special camps for people living in night shelters, labourers, poor people, homeless persons and others, according to local requirements.
The Commission said the declaration attached to Form 6 for SIR had been upheld by the Supreme Court. During the non-SIR period, the forms applicable under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, will be used, it said.
The Commission extended the period for filing claims and objections in Delhi till October 30, 2026, following a request from the Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi. The period for disposal of notices and claims and objections has been extended till November 30.
Following a request from the Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra, the period for filing claims and objections in the state has been extended till October 12, while the period for disposal of notices and claims and objections has been extended till November 10.
The Commission said people whose names had been left out during SIR or thereafter, including young and first-time voters, could apply to the concerned ERO for inclusion in the electoral rolls through the process of continuous updation.
Chief Electoral Officers have been directed to facilitate the process, while CEOs, DEOs and EROs have been asked to immediately launch a special drive for enrolment of such electors.
In Goa, the Commission said the Chief Electoral Officer had directed concerned BLOs to conduct house-to-house visits to voters left out of the electoral rolls and collect their forms. Of 97 voters, 81 had already filled Form 6 for inclusion, it said.
The Commission said field officers have role-based access to the ECINET system in accordance with their statutory powers.
A committee headed by a Senior Deputy Election Commissioner and including an independent expert from an IIT or IIIT will review ECINET to double-check that it complies with the provisions of the relevant Acts and Rules and submit a report to the Commission.
The Commission said various upgrades to the portal had already been made based on inputs from state Chief Electoral Officers over the past few months. If field officers require any further flexibility, it would be made operational, it said.
"Henceforth, all the new initiatives about IT modules and portals will be discussed in the Committee of Officers (COO) before approval by the Commission," it said.
The Commission also decided that agendas for all its meetings would be circulated in advance and minutes would be issued.
It said Annual Performance Appraisal Reports (APARs) of all officers would be completed within the stipulated timeframe of December 31 every year.
Approval of the Commission would be taken for foreign trips of its officers, it said.
It also directed that all directions issued by the Commissioners to officers of the Commission be "meticulously complied with".
The Commission said the press note was issued in accordance with the decisions taken at Saturday's meeting and had the approval of the full Commission.