Amid the ongoing reports over differences between the two Election Commissioners and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the Election Commission (EC) on Saturday (September 26) claimed that all Special Intensive Revision (SIR) orders were issued after approval from all three Election Commissioners.
The EC sought to address several concerns raised by media reports in recent days and also reminded people that the changes in Form 6, through which names are included in the voters’ list, have been upheld by the Supreme Court.
What letters to Cabinet Secretary were about
The EC said in a statement that the letters sent by the two commissioners—Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi—to the Cabinet Secretary were not related to any policy matter of the EC or its IT division, but to the working of an officer on deputation to the poll panel.
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The work re-distribution orders issued by the officer concerned were not implemented after the orders of the two Commissioners, and the oversight over the IT division by the Deputy Election Commissioner (DEC) was never actually withdrawn, the EC said in the statement, which it said was issued with the approval of the full Commission.
All decisions by ‘unanimous approval’
The EC said that in recent months, it has taken numerous decisions, including SIR across the country. The order for the SIR issued on June 24, 2025, was issued with its unanimous approval and was upheld by the Supreme Court in its order dated May 27, 2026.
The schedule for SIR for 12 states and UTs was issued on October 27, 2025, and those for 19 states and UTs was issued on May 14, 2026, with the unanimous approval of the EC. The final figure of the number of electors will be known only after final publication in the remaining 12 states of Phase 3.
Agenda and minutes to be made public
The EC also said that for all its meetings, the agenda will be circulated in advance and minutes will be issued and that all directions issued by Commissioners to officers of poll body will be meticulously complied with.
This is the second EC statement after The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sandhu and Joshi raised objections on several occasions over decisions and orders regarding the SIR, prompting the Opposition to demand CEC Kumar’s sacking and the scrapping of SIR.
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The poll body issued its first statement on the matter on the day the newspaper reported the issues within the EC. The poll panel also said that the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Goa has directed concerned BLOs to conduct house-to-house visits to the left-out voters to collect their forms and 81 of the 97 have already filled Form 6 for inclusion.
Relief for voters
The EC also announced a series of major administrative reforms, online system reviews, and deadlines extensions for voter registration during the full Commission meeting. Critical updates have been made to the SIR process, digital accessibility, and internal oversight.
In a move to ease the verification process, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will now directly visit the homes of individuals flagged for logical or unmapped discrepancies during the ongoing SIR process. BLOs will collect physical documents and upload them to the internal ECINet system for review.
The EC clarified that citizens do not need to visit election offices for physical hearings unless exceptional circumstances dictate otherwise, in which case hearings will preferably take place online. Furthermore, an adult family member can be authorized to attend online hearings on behalf of an elector.
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District Election Officers (DEOs) have been instructed to set up targeted help desks and organize special camps. These drives are dedicated to registering marginalized communities, including individuals living in night shelters, labourers, the poor, and the homeless.
Deadlines extended for Delhi, Maharashtra
Following formal requests from state leadership, the EC has extended the timelines for filing claims and objections in two states. In Delhi, the filing period has been extended until October 30, with the disposal of cases extended to November 30. In Maharashtra, the filing period has been extended until October 12, with the disposal of cases extended to November 10.
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To ensure compliance with statutory laws, a newly formed committee headed by the Senior Deputy Election Commissioner and featuring an independent tech expert from an IIT/IIIT will thoroughly review the ECINET portal.
Moving forward, all new IT modules and portal initiatives must pass through a Committee of Officers before being presented to the EC for final approval.