HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Monday refused to grant interim relief in a writ petition challenging the decision of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to print and physically distribute Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2026 enumeration forms exclusively in Telugu outside the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits.
However, the court observed that the ECI may consider supplying forms in Urdu in areas where more than 20% of the population comprises Urdu-speaking residents.
Justice B Vijaysen Reddy was hearing a writ petition filed by MA Mujeeb Ayyub, an advocate from Karimnagar, who challenged the printing and distribution of SIR enumeration forms only in Telugu.
The petitioner sought directions to the ECI and the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Telangana, to print and distribute the forms in both Telugu and English across the state during the ongoing revision exercise scheduled from June 25 to July 24, 2026.
Restricting English forms to city arbitrary: Petitioner
Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate V Raghunath argued that restricting English forms to the GHMC area was arbitrary as non-Telugu-speaking voters reside throughout Telangana. He contended that voters should not have to depend on BLOs to obtain forms in other languages and alleged that the Telugu-only distribution adversely affected Urdu speakers.
In response, senior counsel for the ECI, Avinash Desai, submitted that printing the forms in Telugu, English, and Urdu would impose a substantial financial burden. After consultations with political parties, the ECI decided to print forms in Telugu and English, while Urdu dummy forms would be made available with BLOs to assist voters in filling out the forms, he said.
After hearing both sides, Justice Vijaysen Reddy directed the ECI to examine the languages in which SIR enumeration forms are printed in states such as West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Bihar. The court adjourned the matter by a week, directing the respondents to respond to the petitioner’s contentions while indicating that Urdu forms may be considered in areas with a significant Urdu-speaking population.
