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The people’s newsroom

PoliticsElectoral rolls

Supreme Court says SIR cannot hold up Andhra local polls; Bengal appeals up next

If revised rolls are not out when polls are notified, the existing rolls apply, the court said. In Bengal, about 1.70 lakh appeals by deleted voters are pending before Kolkata and Howrah civic polls.

From the editorial desk · New DelhiPublished
The Supreme Court of India building in New Delhi
The Supreme Court of India building in New DelhiBiswarup Ganguly / Wikimedia

Key points

  1. On 9 October the Supreme Court said the SIR cannot be a ground to delay local body elections in Andhra Pradesh.
  2. If final SIR rolls are not published before the polls are notified, the existing electoral rolls will apply, the bench clarified.
  3. In a separate mention, lawyers said nearly 1.70 lakh appeals by voters deleted in Bengal's SIR are pending from Kolkata and Howrah, where civic polls are due in November.
  4. The Chief Justice said the Bengal plea could be heard on 16 or 29 October, and that appeals seeking deletions could be taken up last.

The Supreme Court on 9 October said the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls cannot be used to delay local body elections in Andhra Pradesh. If the revised rolls are not published before the polls are notified, the elections will go ahead on the existing rolls.

On the same day, the same bench agreed to consider a plea to fast-track appeals by voters deleted in West Bengal’s SIR before civic elections in Kolkata and Howrah.

The Andhra Pradesh order

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana heard a petition by Paka Suresh against the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s order of 1 October. The High Court had directed the State Election Commission (SEC) and the state government to begin the process for rural and urban local body polls, preferably within six weeks, using electoral rolls as of 1 January 2026.

Senior Advocate C. Aryama Sundaram, for the petitioner, argued that the six-week direction could not stand if the SIR was completed in the meantime. He told the court that about 44 lakh voters had been removed on the ground that they did not exist, and that new voters had been added.

Senior Advocate K. Parameshwar, for the SEC, said the elections had not yet been notified and that the rolls in force would apply until the Election Commission of India (ECI) published a fresh list. The SEC told the court it was ready to issue the notification within the High Court’s six weeks.

The bench said the SIR cannot be a ground to delay the polls. Its clarification runs as follows:

  • If the SIR is complete and final rolls are published before the notification, the revised rolls will be used.
  • If not, the elections will use the existing rolls under the state’s laws.
  • A revision under way during the election process does not by itself invalidate the roll already in force.

The bench also said obstructing elections amounted to obstructing the public interest. The ECI has proposed to publish Andhra Pradesh’s final SIR rolls on 16 October.

The terms of the state’s urban local bodies ended on 17 March 2026 and those of gram panchayats on 2 April 2026. In its 1 October order, the High Court relied on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Lakshmi Charan Sen v. A.K.M. Hassan Uzzaman, which held that an ongoing revision of rolls does not by itself invalidate existing rolls or justify postponing elections.

SIR and local polls: the numbers before the court

  • 16 Octdate the ECI proposed for Andhra Pradesh's final SIR rolls
  • 6 weeksHigh Court's deadline to begin Andhra local body polls, set on 1 Oct
  • 1.70 lakhappeals by deleted voters pending from Kolkata and Howrah, as told to the court
  • 93%share of about 1 lakh decided Bengal appeals that restored voters, as told to the court

Bengal: appeals before civic polls

In West Bengal, Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan and advocate Prashant Bhushan sought urgent listing of a plea to prioritise appeals by voters deleted from the rolls during the SIR. Municipal elections in Kolkata and Howrah are due in November, and Sankaranarayanan said they were likely to be notified in mid-November.

Bhushan told the bench that nearly 1.70 lakh appeals from the two municipal areas were pending before the SIR appellate tribunals, and that over 90% of decided appeals had gone in favour of voters. He asked for an interim order allowing pending appellants to vote. Sankaranarayanan said nearly 1 lakh appeals had been decided so far, 93% of them restoring voters to the rolls.

We have already missed the by-elections; now will miss the municipal elections also.

Gopal Sankaranarayanan, Senior Advocate, in the Supreme Court, 9 October 2026

Justice Bagchi said the court was “fully conscious of the problem”. The Chief Justice said appeals by people seeking the deletion of others could be pushed back and heard last.

What happens next

The Chief Justice said he would see whether the Bengal matter could be listed on 16 October, and that 29 October was otherwise the best date. Sankaranarayanan said the main West Bengal SIR case had earlier been pushed to 30 October.

In Andhra Pradesh, the date of notification will decide which roll is used. On 9 October the Supreme Court also dismissed the state’s appeal against the High Court ruling that struck down a 34% quota for Backward Classes in local bodies.