Poll panel also eases hearings and extends electoral roll deadlines in Delhi, Maharashtra.
Amid reports of differences among the three Election Commissioners over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and other aspects of the poll panel’s functioning, the Election Commission on Saturday made an emphatic assertion that its key decisions on the exercise were taken with the unanimous approval of the full Commission.
In a press note issued after a meeting of the Commission on Saturday, the ECI specifically stated that the SIR order issued on 24 June 2025 for all States and Union Territories, beginning with Bihar and followed by West Bengal and 30 other States and UTs, was issued with the “unanimous approval of the Commission”. It further said that the schedules for SIR in 12 States and UTs issued on 27 October 2025 and those for 19 States and UTs issued on 14 May 2026 were also issued with unanimous approval.
The assertion assumes significance coming days after reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections on several decisions and orders relating to electoral rolls and the SIR process. The Indian Express reported that the two Commissioners had formally raised objections at least 14 times over a period of 10 months, including on issues relating to addition and deletion of voters, electoral-roll data and the poll panel’s IT systems.
The ECI had earlier maintained that individual observations or differing views during deliberations did not amount to decisions of the Commission and that its final decisions, including those concerning SIR, had been taken unanimously. Saturday’s press note goes a step further by putting the claim of unanimity into a formal document issued after a meeting of the full Commission.
It also says that the original 24 June 2025 SIR order was upheld by the Supreme Court in its order dated 27 May 2026. The Commission also directly addressed the controversy surrounding a letter sent to the Cabinet Secretary. It said the letter was not related to any policy matter of the Commission or its IT division, but concerned the working of an officer on deputation to the ECI.
It said the work redistribution orders issued by the officer were not implemented after orders of two Commissioners and that oversight of the IT division by the Deputy Election Commissioner was never withdrawn. Significantly, the ECI released the press note along with a group photograph of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi sitting together at the Commission’s meeting at Nirvachan Sadan on Saturday afternoon.
The photograph shows all three Commissioners together at the meeting. The visual accompanying the statement comes against the backdrop of reports portraying serious differences within the three-member poll panel. The Commission’s decision to release the photograph alongside a press note repeatedly stressing “unanimous approval” adds an institutional dimension to its response.
The ECI has also announced several measures concerning the ongoing SIR. Booth Level Officers will visit the homes of people who have received notices for being unmapped or for logical discrepancies to collect documents, with such people ordinarily not required to appear before the ERO or AERO for hearings. Hearings will be held only in exceptional circumstances and preferably online. The Commission said SIR has already been completed in 20 States and UTs, including Bihar and West Bengal.
It added that people whose names were left out during SIR or thereafter, including young and first-time voters, can seek inclusion through continuous updation of electoral rolls. The press note also extends the deadline for filing claims and objections in Delhi to 30 October 2026 and the deadline for disposal to 30 November. In Maharashtra, the corresponding deadlines have been extended to 12 October and 10 November respectively. The Commission concluded by stating that the press note had been issued in accordance with the decisions taken at its 26 September meeting and “has the approval of the full Commission.”
