DMK Challenges Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision of Tamil Nadu Electoral Rolls in Supreme Court

New Delhi:

The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party of Tamil Nadu has approached the Supreme Court on Monday to contest the Election Commission's decision to implement a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across the state. The party has characterized this exercise as "unconstitutional, arbitrary, and a direct threat to democratic rights."

DMK organizing secretary R S Bharathi filed the petition seeking to invalidate the EC's October 27 notification that ordered the SIR. The petition argues that this action violates Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution, which guarantee the right to equality, freedom of speech, and right to life, alongside contravening provisions of the Representation of People Act and the Registration of Electors Rules of 1960.

Senior advocate and MP N R Elango settled the petition, which was submitted by lawyer Vivek Singh to the Supreme Court registry. It is expected to be heard within this week.

The petition requests "a writ of certiorari calling for records pertaining to order dated October 27, 2025 of the Respondent directing that a Special Intensive Revision be conducted in the State of Tamil Nadu."

According to the DMK, the SIR could potentially lead to "arbitrary removal" of hundreds of thousands of legitimate voters. The party contends that the procedure imposes unreasonable documentation requirements without adequate procedural safeguards.

"The SIR and the Orders, if not set aside, can arbitrarily and without due process, disenfranchise lakhs of voters from electing their representatives, thereby disrupting free and fair elections and democracy in the country, which are part of the basic structure of the Constitution," the petition states.

It further argues that "the documentation requirements of the directive, lack of due process as well as the unreasonably short timeline for the said Special Intensive Revision of the Electoral Roll in the State of Tamil Nadu make this exercise bound to result in removal of names of lakhs of genuine voters from electoral rolls leading to their disenfranchisement."

The DMK maintains that wrongful deletions resulting from rushed timelines and unclear processes could "disrupt free and fair elections, a core element of India's constitutional basic structure."

The petition emphasizes that "There is neither a necessity for directing a de novo verification of such an extensive nature nor do the orders of the Respondent (EC) dated 24.06.2025 and 27.10.2025 disclose any exceptional or compelling reason that could constitute adequate justification for the SIR. The orders thus amount to a colourable exercise of power and are patently arbitrary, unreasonable and illegal."

The DMK points out that Tamil Nadu's electoral rolls were already updated through a Special Summary Revision (SSR) completed in January 2025.

A central issue in DMK's challenge is the EC's requirement for voters, particularly those not listed in the 2003 roll, to provide documentation proving citizenship.

The petition argues that voter verification is essentially being transformed into a de-facto National Register of Citizens (NRC) without proper legal foundation.

According to the DMK, the Election Commission is exceeding its constitutional mandate by evaluating citizenship, a power specifically reserved for the Union government.

The SIR effectively reverses the presumption of legitimacy for registered voters, compelling them to re-establish their citizenship status.

The petition also highlights concerns that the poll authority has excluded commonly accepted identity documents such as ration cards, PAN cards, and voter ID cards during the initial stage, forcing many voters into default deletion followed by prolonged appeals processes.

It notes that an SSR was conducted in Tamil Nadu between October 2024 and January 6, 2025, which already addressed issues including migration, death, and removal of ineligible voters.

"The existing electoral roll in Tamil Nadu was updated and published on 06.01.2025 under Special Summary Revision and has been continuously updated since then," the petition concludes.