The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) moved the Supreme Court on Monday against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu. The move comes a day after the Tamil Nadu government convened an all-party meeting to discuss the Election Commission's move to implement SIR in the state.
In the petition moved by DMK's organising secretary R.S. Bharathi, the ruling party has challenged the conduct of SIR at this juncture and raised suspicions over its motives. In the petition, DMK argued that the Election Commission lacks the authority to implement this procedure.
Among various reasons, the DMK also argued, "This is not an appropriate time to implement SIR and the Election Commission is acting beyond the powers granted by the Constitution." The party charged that the procedure is designed in a way that enables the removal of eligible persons and the inclusion of ineligible ones. "Implementing this SIR would put millions of Tamil Nadu voters at risk of losing their voting rights," the party argued. The apex court is likely to hear this petition later this week.
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On Sunday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin convened an all-party meeting to discuss SIR. "As the Election Commission has not accepted the request to hold the SIR of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu after the 2026 Assembly election, it has been decided to approach the apex court," the chief minister said after the meeting. Stalin charged that the Commission is trying to implement the same modus operandi as in Bihar in Tamil Nadu.
The meeting also condemned the Election Commission for acting as a "puppet of the Union government and with an authoritarian tendency, despite most political parties in the country opposing this SIR from the very beginning."
