Supreme Court hearing on SIR LIVE: Tamil Nadu seeks extension of enumeration forms phase

Recommend Nizam Pasha, for petitioners’ facet, refers to EC affidavit which stated the Centre’s energy is “cramped” to inquiring into the conditions in which Indian voters voluntarily bought foreign citizenship. 

He contends that EC has laid claim to a “parallel” energy to the Centre to count on into citizenship by a mere executive notification. 

The EC has laid the burden of proof on the electors. The parliamentary law requires most attention-grabbing self-declaration from the elector for inclusion in the roll. Nonetheless in SIR direction of, the citizen has to produce paperwork to show his or her citizenship, file enumeration bear, he argues.

As the listening to resumed, senior recommend Prashanto Sen, representing the petitioners, argued: ‘The exercise of energy by the Election Fee to notify the SIR can’t be classified as rule-making or law-making. It could in all probability not match the statutory authority of Half 21(3) of the Representation of the Of us Act, 1950. No longer every circulation may possibly possibly even be elevated to the dwelling of a rule or law.’”

Mr. Sen argues that after Half 21(3) of the ROPA is invoked, the EC can not discuss to Article 324 (energy of superintendence and defend an eye on of elections). Half 21(3) is a total code in itself and covers the revision of electoral rolls.

“There is just not any longer always a link between what the EC desires to carry out by SIR and the strategies or procedures outdated.”

The ECI doesn’t possess the facility, particular or implicit, to look at citizenship. The flexibility is with the Foreigners Tribunals and the govt. under the Citizenship Act, argues Shadan Farast.

The bench rises for lunch.

“Existing voters possess the merit of the presumption that they are voters. They’ll no longer be eradicated from the voter checklist with no plump-fledged inquiry,” stated senior recommend Shadan Farasat, representing the petitioners.

He argues that the burden to disprove the position of an current elector in the voter checklist is that of the Suppose.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday pointed to the special holding authorized pointers in position in Assam addressing the quandary’s uncommon desires while listening to a petition alleging that the Election Fee of India (EC) has discriminated against the Suppose by no longer conducting a Particular Intensive Revision (SIR) of its electoral rolls despite the alleged presence of “40 to 50 lakh unlawful immigrants” even manner motivate in 1997.

The Election Fee of India on Monday (December 8), started a reproduction voter identification direction of, where a original feature changed into added to the Sales space Stage Officer’s application in West Bengal to name and examine duplicate voters. 5 original electoral observers had been appointed for the Particular Intensive Revision (SIR) in the Suppose to supervise the total scheme. 

The Supreme Court factors a label to the Election Fee of India and seeks a response concerning a plea raising apprehensions about disenfranchisement brought about by the SIR direction of among non secular minorities from Bangladesh, who’re now settled in West Bengal and are calm ready to get hold of citizenship certification under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019. 

The petition by the NGO Aatmadeep states that Hindu, Christian, Jain and Buddhist “refugees” from the neighboring nation are “horror-troubled.”

The Supreme Court on December 4, 2025 put the onus fully on Suppose governments to replace workers unable to endure the pressure of Sales space Stage Officer (BLO) work, but refused to let the reported injure of the personnel “bog down” a tightly distress second phase of the Particular Intensive Revision of electoral rolls conducted by the Election Fee across 9 States and three Union Territories.

The court docket stated States may possibly possibly well decide to depute extra workers to pork up the BLOs’ ranks and lower their work stress.

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The CJI clarifies that the December 4 notify to produce extra BLOs or replace unwilling/unhealthy BLOs by deputing others has a pan-India manufacture and is no longer restricted to Tamil Nadu by myself. 

“District Electoral Officers will support as nodal officers in alongside side or replacing BLOs. States must provide the personnel for BLO work,” stated the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant says the court docket has requested States to produce extra gross sales space-level officers (BLOs) and to interchange current BLOs who’re unwilling to work. 

Justice Bagchi states that the ECI may possibly possibly well just calm manner the States for personnel if wished. Any lack of cooperation from any Suppose govt provides the EC the freedom to repeat us, according to Justice Bagchi. 

“The ECI has plump energy to secret agent the help of central forces and may possibly possibly well carry out so; nonetheless, the ECI doesn’t want to whisk into that,” according to Senior Recommend Rakesh Dwivedi.

Justice Bagchi says the BLO’s job is no longer sheer desk work. 

“They need to prance back and forth from house to house. They need to rep particulars and post reviews. It is a long way with no doubt no longer desk work,” he stated.

Petitioners speak that the SIR direction of in West Bengal has slowed and is marred by violence. Justice Bagchi notes that most attention-grabbing a single FIR has been placed on file. 

The Chief Justice of India (CJI) states that the Election Fee (ECI) can not allow the law to be taken hostage. 

Justice Bagchi refers to a submission made earlier by a attorney, indicating that overworked Sales space Stage Officers (BLOs) are gheraoing EC workplaces. 

Senior Recommend Rakesh Dwivedi capabilities out that every polling gross sales space has 1,200 electors, and BLOs possess 37 days to veil their respective cubicles.

The petitioner facet demanding the constitutionality of the Particular Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise claimed in the Supreme Court on December 2, 2025, that the Election Fee of India has morphed into a “despot” that has remodeled a “suspicion” in regards to the purity of the electoral roll into a huge countrywide watch that will possibly well no longer most attention-grabbing outcome in disenfranchisement but additionally statelessness for quite lots of.