ECI Announces Key Measures for SIR Process, Extends Deadlines in Delhi and Maharashtra After Key Meeting

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) today outlined several important decisions following its meeting held at 3:00 PM, focusing on streamlining the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, enhancing support for vulnerable groups, and strengthening internal processes.

In a major relief for electors facing notices over unmapped entries or logical discrepancies during the SIR, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will now visit their homes to collect documents. These will be uploaded on the ECINet portal for decision by the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO). Such individuals will generally not be required to appear for hearings at ERO or Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) offices. Hearings, if needed in exceptional cases, will preferably be held online, and any adult family member can be authorised to attend on the elector’s behalf. The Commission directed that online hearing facilities be strengthened.

District Election Officers (DEOs) have been instructed to set up adequate help desks and organise special camps for people living in night shelters, labourers, the poor, and the homeless, as required.

The Commission noted that the declaration attached to Form 6 for the SIR has been upheld by the Supreme Court. For non-SIR periods, forms prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, will continue to apply.

On the technology front, field officers retain role-based access to the ECINET system in line with their statutory powers. A committee headed by a Senior Deputy Election Commissioner, including an independent expert from an IIT or IIIT, will review ECINET to ensure full compliance with relevant Acts and Rules and submit a report to the Commission. Recent upgrades based on inputs from State Chief Electoral Officers will continue, with further flexibility for field officers to be made operational as needed. All new IT modules and portals will henceforth be discussed in the Committee of Officers before Commission approval.

Responding to requests from the respective CEOs, the Commission extended the period for filing claims and objections in Delhi until October 30, 2026, with disposal of notices, claims, and objections extended until November 30, 2026. In Maharashtra, the filing period has been extended until October 12, 2026, and disposal until November 10, 2026.

SIR has already been completed in 20 States and Union Territories, including Bihar and West Bengal. Anyone whose name was left out during or after the SIR, including young and first-time voters, may apply to the concerned ERO for inclusion under the continuous updation process. CEOs have been directed to facilitate this, and CEOs, DEOs, and EROs will immediately launch a special drive for enrolment of such electors. In Goa, the CEO has already directed BLOs to conduct house-to-house visits for left-out voters; 81 out of 97 such voters have already submitted Form 6.

The Commission also issued internal directives: agendas for all meetings will be circulated in advance with minutes issued thereafter; Annual Performance Appraisal Reports of officers will be completed by December 31 each year; foreign trips by officers will require Commission approval; and all directions issued by Commissioners to officers shall be meticulously complied with.

The Commission reiterated that a letter to the Cabinet Secretary concerned only the working of an officer on deputation and was not related to any policy or IT division matter. Work redistribution orders issued by the concerned officer were not implemented following directions from the two Commissioners, and oversight of the IT division by the Deputy Election Commissioner was never withdrawn.

It further clarified that the SIR order of June 24, 2025 (covering all States/UTs, beginning with Bihar and followed by West Bengal and others), as well as subsequent schedules, received the unanimous approval of the Commission and has been upheld by the Supreme Court. The final number of electors will be known only after the final publication of rolls in the remaining 12 States under Phase-III.

These decisions were taken at the Commission’s meeting today and have the approval of the full Commission, according to a press release.

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