THE SUPREME COURT ON THURSDAY was told that The Election Commission of India’s (‘ECI’) order released on October 27, 2025, for Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls in nine State and three Union Territories was a copy and paste of the July 24, 2025, Bihar SIR order. The order, it was argued, was without “demonstratable application of mind”, with the Commission acting as a “suspicious policeman” over the voters.
Raju Ramachandran: ECI’s order disabling the right to vote
Stating that the October 27 ECI order for SIR in nine States and three Union Territories was a reproduction of the July 24, order of Bihar SIR, Senior Advocate Raju Ramachandran told the bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi that the task of the Election Commission was to act as an “enabler” of the voters to be included in the electoral rolls and participate in democratic process. However, in reality, it was acting as a “disabler”.
“The manner in which the Election Commission of India is attempting to conduct a Special Intensive Revision, [it] … , is disabling the right to vote and excluding electors,” Ramachandran, who appeared for the Tamil Nadu government, argued, “This militates against the Constitutional role assigned to the ECI to protect the right to vote under Article 326, and the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (‘RP Act’) – Section 16 and Section 19.”
