The Election Commission of India (ECI) has officially informed the Madras High Court that a comprehensive Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu is set to commence within approximately one week. This significant announcement comes as the state gears up for its Legislative Assembly elections in 2026.
During a hearing before the First Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan, ECI standing counsel Niranjan Rajagopalan confirmed that this Special Intensive Revision in Tamil Nadu is part of a larger, nationwide initiative and will be implemented very soon.
The ECI counsel further assured the Bench that all directives previously issued by the Supreme Court concerning a similar SIR exercise in Bihar would be strictly adhered to during the Tamil Nadu revision. He also mentioned that preliminary consultations with Chief Electoral Officers have already taken place.
These assurances were provided amidst the ongoing hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition. The petition was filed by B. Sathyanarayanan, a former Member of the Legislative Assembly for the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), who represented the T. Nagar constituency in Chennai from 2016 to 2021.
The petitioner’s plea specifically requested the ECI to undertake a thorough and transparent re-verification of the electoral rolls across all 229 parts of the T. Nagar constituency. This comprehensive review, to be conducted by dedicated booth-level officers, aims to correct any improper deletions and rectify erroneous inclusions of voters.
Sathyanarayanan highlighted striking inconsistencies, noting that in 1996, the T. Nagar constituency had 208,349 registered voters, with a 53% turnout (113,853 votes). By 2021, the number of registered voters had only marginally increased to 245,005, a mere rise of 36,656 voters over a quarter-century, despite significant population growth.
He argued that such a stagnant growth in the voter list, juxtaposed with an exponential population increase, raises profound legal and constitutional questions. The petitioner also pointed out that in the 2021 elections, with a 55.92% voter turnout, MLA J. Karunanithi of the DMK secured victory by an extremely narrow margin of just 137 votes.
According to the former MLA, this minuscule winning margin, when considered against the potential thousands of incorrect deletions and inclusions, strongly suggests irregularities that could have significantly impacted the election outcome. He further asserted that he had previously brought these concerns to the attention of election officials on multiple occasions.
In response, the ECI standing counsel stated that the petitioner’s concerns would be fully addressed once the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls officially begins in Tamil Nadu. Acknowledging these submissions, the Division Bench decided to adjourn the hearing on the PIL petition for one week, allowing the petitioner time to present any further supporting documents.