BENGALURU: Citizens’ groups urged the state government to halt the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging it harasses citizens in the name of verification. The group cited lack of transparency, arbitrary deletion criteria like “logical discrepancy”, and the absence of door-to-door enumeration, demanding the exercise be deferred until a proper census-based revision is undertaken.
At a press conference here on Thursday, Kathyayini Chamaraj, Executive Trustee of CIVIC-Bangalore, said they have written to the chief minister and law minister, urging Karnataka to take a firm stand against SIR and propose an alternative national framework. She warned that while civil society groups are helping citizens re-enrol, these are only short-term fixes.
Citing data from Bihar, she noted that less than 0.1 per cent of illegal immigrants were identified, while nearly the entire population underwent verification. She also flagged the use of “logical discrepancy” in West Bengal, such as minor spelling or age differences, as a basis for deleting voter names, calling it legally untenable.
Kathyayini further argued that the current SIR process violates provisions of the Representation of the People Act by not conducting fresh door-to-door enumeration. She recommended deferring SIR until after the 2027 Census and creating a centralised digital database linked to birth, death, and migration records.
Trilochan Sastry, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), said the process, introduced through legislative changes in 2023, grants immunity to the Election Commission of India (ECI), and questioned why a constitutional body should be shielded from judicial scrutiny.
He noted that a PIL challenging SIR in the Supreme Court of India has seen repeated delays. He highlighted that voting is a fundamental right, and the SIR process poses risks to citizens’ voting rights.
Highlighting ground-level challenges, Pasha, general secretary of the Forum for Democracy & Communal Amity – Karnataka Chapter (FDCA-K) said the revision process has led to confusion, with booth level officers facing difficulties in verifying voters, especially migrant populations. He pointed to experiences in states like Bihar and West Bengal, where implementation gaps were evident.