ECI to roll out Phase-III of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in 22 States/UTs covering ~40 crore electors

📌 Summary:

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) will roll out Phase-III of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the 'coming days', covering remaining 22 States and Union Territories.

• Phase-III will encompass nearly 40 crore (400 million) electors — bringing pan-India SIR to completion.

• Rollout was on hold due to Assembly elections in Kerala, Assam, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal held last month; now the poll process is complete.

• Phases I & II so far covered 10 States and 3 UTs: Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Goa and Bihar. Assam underwent a separate 'special revision'.

• States in Phase-III include: Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Ladakh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Delhi, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Tripura, Telangana, Uttarakhand.

• Total voters covered after Phase-III: ~99 crore (all-India); 60 crore had already been covered in Phases I & II.

• Controversy: SIR has faced legal challenges; political parties (including Trinamool Congress) approached the Supreme Court alleging discrepancies in TN and WB rolls — petitions on victory margins being less than deleted votes pending.

• ECI rationale: In Bihar, the SIR exercise reportedly identified nationals from Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar in the rolls — citing cleanup of duplicates and ineligible entries as the core mandate.

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 — Election Commission, electoral reforms, RPA 1950 framework, free & fair elections, judicial oversight of ECI powers.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• SIR — Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls

• Phases I & II covered 10 states + 3 UTs (~60 crore electors)

• Phase-III: 22 states/UTs, ~40 crore electors

• Pan-India order for SIR issued in June 2025

• Total electors in India: ~99 crore

• Legal framework: Representation of the People Act, 1950 (electoral rolls); Section 21 mandates revision

🔑 Key Term: Special Intensive Revision (SIR) — A door-to-door verification exercise by Booth Level Officers under the Representation of the People Act 1950 and ECI guidelines, aimed at removing duplicate/dead/ineligible voters and adding new eligible voters; distinct from the routine annual 'summary revision'.