# Delhi Citizen Groups Demand SIR Withdrawal, Restore 2025 Roll After Audit Finds 450 Live Voters Marked ASDD

*Independent audit verifies present electors wrongly excluded; Manch seeks rollback of SIR and extension of claims period.*

**Society · 13 Sep 2026 · GS: GS2, Essay · Exam yield: High**

## Why this matters

Delhi’s SIR has excluded over 58 lakh voters from the 2025 roll, raising fundamental questions about electoral integrity ahead of future polls. For UPSC, it tests grasp of Article 326, ECI powers, and citizen rights under the Representation of the People Act.

## In plain words

Every democracy needs an accurate list of who can vote; in India that list is prepared by the Election Commission (EC) for each state and union territory. In 2026, the EC launched a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Delhi to rebuild the roll from scratch, instead of the usual yearly updates. This exercise sits at the intersection of Article 326 of the Constitution, which guarantees adult suffrage, and the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which gives the EC power to revise rolls.

Under SIR, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) went house-to-house asking residents to fill enumeration forms. If a person was not found or seemed to have moved, they were tagged ASDD – Absent, Shifted, Dead, or Duplicate – and left out of the draft roll published on 31 August 2026. The draft included only 97.53 lakh names from 1.45 crore forms; 47.56 lakh were put in ASDD. Citizen groups later audited Block Y in Mangolpuri and found over 450 people physically present but wrongly marked ASDD, plus 500 others missing entirely. It is like a librarian discarding books from the catalogue because they were not on the shelf during one random check, only to find readers still using them.

The stakes are high: being off the roll can block pensions and government schemes, and dilutes the voice of working-class neighbourhoods. Voter Adhikar Manch and others demand withdrawal of SIR, restoration of the 2025 Assembly roll, and extension of the objections window beyond 30 September 2026. The EC says affected people can file Form 6 to re-enrol, but groups argue this forces existing voters to falsely declare they were never registered. The final roll is due on 4 November 2026.

## Key facts

- Draft list published Aug 31 included 97.53 lakh of 1.45 crore generated forms; 47.56 lakh placed ASDD
- Jan Sarokar & MKSS audit in Block Y Mangolpuri found 450 electors verified present despite ASDD tag
- Over 500 others found residing but neither in draft nor ASDD
- Voter Adhikar Manch demands SIR withdrawal, restore 2025 Assembly roll, extend objections by month
- Final electoral roll to be published November 4

## How we got here

Delhi’s electoral roll for the February 2025 Assembly elections contained 1,56,14,000 electors (Maktoob, 2026). The Election Commission of India (ECI) froze a roll of 1.45 crore names before launching the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in 2026. Prior to SIR, about 11.03 lakh names were deleted through monthly updates, with 3.39 lakh cut in April 2026 alone (Maktoob, 2026). The SIR involved Booth Level Officers (BLOs) collecting enumeration forms from 1.45 crore generated slips; the draft roll published on 31 August 2026 listed 97.53 lakh electors, while 47.56 lakh were marked ASDD (The Hindu, 2026). The legal framework rests on the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, supplemented by the ECI Manual on Electoral Rolls (December 2023). Citizen groups such as Jan Sarokar, MKSS and Voter Adhikar Manch conducted independent audits in September 2026 revealing mismatches.

## The bigger picture

**Constitutional — Right to vote and ECI’s revision power**

Article 326 of the Constitution grants every adult citizen the right to be registered as a voter, subject to law. The Representation of the People Act, 1950 and Rules 1960 empower the ECI to conduct intensive revisions. The mass tagging of present electors as ASDD without notice arguably breaches natural justice. The counterview audit shows 13% of Block Y electors dropped with no reason, undermining Article 326’s promise of universal adult suffrage.

→ SIR must reconcile ECI’s procedural power with constitutional right to vote.

**Political — Electoral integrity and trust in institutions**

The deletion of 58.6 lakh names from the 2025 roll (Maktoob, 2026) strikes at the heart of representative democracy. Working-class localities like Mangolpuri’s Y-Block lost ~40% of names (The Hindu, 2026). Such exclusion can alter constituency demographics before elections. The Voter Adhikar Manch calls it "exclusion by design". Political stability requires citizen confidence that the electoral roll reflects reality, not administrative convenience.

→ Large-scale deletions risk eroding public trust in free and fair elections.

**Social — Impact on marginalised and working-class groups**

Independent audits found over 450 present voters wrongly marked ASDD and 500 missing entirely in Block Y alone (The Hindu, 2026). The Manch notes roughly two in three trans electors were removed. Fear of losing ration, pensions and schemes surfaced in public hearings. Marriage, migration and propertylessness should not become grounds for disenfranchisement. The episode exposes how poor verification disproportionately hits informal settlements.

→ SIR’s faulty fieldwork deepens exclusion of vulnerable social groups.

**Ethical — Procedural fairness and burden of proof**

Ethical governance demands that no citizen be deleted without notice and hearing. The CEO’s defence relied on unrecorded "local inquiry" (Counterview, 2026). Forcing restored voters to file Form 6 declaring they were never enrolled compels a false statement. The ECI Manual on Electoral Rolls (Dec 2023) para 11.2.4(vi) requires diligent verification. The episode shows accountability deficit when administration shifts burden onto electors.

→ Due process violation makes the exercise ethically indefensible without corrective Jan Sunwai.

## The big debate

**Should the Election Commission’s SIR in Delhi be withdrawn and the 2025 roll restored?**

**For**
- Independent door-to-door audits found over 450 live voters marked ASDD, proving exclusion errors.
- Mass pre-SIR deletions of 11.03 lakh without individual notice violate natural justice.
- Requiring Form 6 forces existing voters to falsely deny prior registration.

**Against**
- SIR aims to cleanse rolls of duplicates and fake entries for accuracy.
- BLOs followed house-to-house enumeration; absentees can still file claims till Sept 30.
- ECI has statutory mandate under RPA 1950 to conduct intensive revisions periodically.

**The balanced take:** While the ECI’s aim of cleaning rolls of duplicates is legitimate, the scale of errors and absence of individual notice make the current SIR procedurally flawed. Restoring wrongly excluded electors via Form 8 with public Jan Sunwai best balances roll purity and inclusion.

## Answer it in Mains

**Examine the role of the Election Commission of India in maintaining electoral integrity while conducting intensive roll revisions.** *(GS2)*

How to attack it: Begin with Article 326 and RPA 1950; explain SIR mechanism and Delhi’s 58 lakh exclusions; weigh inclusion against roll purity; conclude with due process, public hearings and trained BLOs.

Quote this: Cite ECI Manual on Electoral Rolls (Dec 2023) and Voter Adhikar Manch audit showing 58.6 lakh drop from 2025 roll.

**How can citizen audits strengthen democratic accountability in electoral processes? Illustrate with recent examples.** *(GS2)*

How to attack it: Define citizen audit; link to Right to Information spirit; use Mangolpuri Block Y findings of 450 wrong ASDD; suggest Jan Sunwai; conclude as complement to ECI.

Quote this: Quote Jan Sarokar–MKSS door-to-door verification covering 1,448 of 1,516 houses in Block Y, Mangolpuri (The Hindu 2026).

**Discuss the implications of large-scale voter roll deletions on marginalised communities and social justice.** *(GS2)*

How to attack it: Open with working-class Y-Block 40% name removal; analyse pension and scheme anxiety plus trans elector exclusion; link to Article 14 equality; recommend statutory safeguards and notices.

Quote this: Reference Maktoob 2026 report that roughly two in three trans electors were removed in Delhi SIR.

## Prelims quick-fire

- **[Data]** Delhi SIR draft roll published 31 Aug 2026 listed 97.53 lakh electors from 1.45 crore forms (The Hindu 2026). — *97.53 lakh included, not total; 47.56 lakh put in ASDD.*
- **[Data]** 2025 Delhi Assembly roll had 1,56,14,000 electors; SIR draft reduced by 58,60,423 (Maktoob 2026). — *Reduction includes pre-SIR deletions and ASDD, not only draft exclusions.*
- **[Term]** ASDD stands for Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate categories used in electoral roll revision (ECI 2026). — *Absent/Shifted are administrative tags, not legal disqualification.*
- **[Body/Institution]** Booth Level Officer (BLO) conducts house-to-house enumeration during Special Intensive Revision (The Hindu 2026). — *BLO is local govt teacher/worker, not EC permanent staff.*
- **[Term]** Form 6 used for new voter inclusion; Form 7 for deletion; Form 8 for correction (RPA 1950). — *Manch demands Form 8 restoration, not Form 6 fresh enrolment.*
- **[Report/Index]** ECI Manual on Electoral Rolls published December 2023 prescribes verification procedures (Counterview 2026). — *Para 11.2.4(vi) requires diligent inquiry before marking shifted.*
- **[Body/Institution]** Jan Sarokar and MKSS audit in Mangolpuri Block Y found 450 present voters wrongly ASDD (Hindu 2026). — *Audit covered 93% houses; not entire Delhi.*

## What should happen

1. **Conduct public Jan Sunwai camps in every block to hear claims objectively** Door-to-door audit shows errors clustered in working-class areas needing community verification. *(ECI Manual on Electoral Rolls (December 2023) para 24.1.2)*
2. **Restore wrongly deleted electors via Form 8, not fresh Form 6** Form 6 forces false declaration of never being enrolled, violating fairness. *(Registration of Electors Rules, 1960)*
3. **Mandate minimum three BLO visits on separate days before ASDD tagging** Prevents single-visit errors that excluded present voters in Block Y. *(ECI Manual on Electoral Rolls (December 2023) para 11.2.4(vi))*
4. **Extend claims and objections period by at least one month beyond Sept 30** Allows adequate time for marginalised groups to correct exclusions.

## Jargon, demystified

- **SIR (Special Intensive Revision)** — Periodic drive by Election Commission to rebuild electoral roll from scratch via house-to-house enumeration in a territory. *(Different from annual summary revision; used in Delhi 2026.)*
- **ASDD (Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate)** — Category tagging electors not found or suspected ineligible during revision, excluding them from draft roll; covers four types. *(Not a legal disqualification; claimable via forms.)*
- **BLO (Booth Level Officer)** — Local official appointed by ECI for each polling booth to collect enumeration forms and verify voter presence. *(Key implementation node; errors attributed to single-visit BLO.)*
- **Form 6 (Inclusion of name)** — Application for adding a new elector; requires declaring not previously enrolled, sparking false-declaration row in SIR. *(Manch objects as forces false declaration for restored voters.)*
- **Form 7 (Deletion of name)** — Application to remove an elector’s name from roll, typically for death or shift; required before lawful deletion. *(Pre-SIR deletions lacked Form 7 notice per Manch.)*
- **Form 8 (Correction of entries)** — Application to correct details or restore wrongfully deleted electors without fresh enrolment; demanded by Manch for ASDD. *(Used for correction, not new enrolment.)*
- **ECI (Election Commission of India)** — Constitutional body under Article 324 overseeing elections and electoral roll revision; independent authority for conducting SIR. *(Manual on Electoral Rolls Dec 2023 guides procedure.)*

## Revise in 30 seconds

- Delhi SIR draft (31 Aug 2026) included 97.53 lakh of 1.45 crore forms.
- 47.56 lakh placed ASDD; 58.6 lakh fewer than 2025 Assembly roll.
- Block Y audit found 450 present voters wrongly tagged ASDD.
- Manch demands SIR withdrawal, restore 2025 roll, extend objections.
- Final roll due 4 Nov 2026; claims window ends 30 Sept.

## Study next

**Static links:** Constitution: Article 326, Representation of the People Act 1950, Statutory Bodies: ECI, Civil Society & Accountability

**Essay angle:** Electoral integrity vs inclusion: Is mass deletion democratic?

**Interview probe:** How would you balance roll purity and voter rights as DM?

## Sources

- [‘I am not dead’: Voters marked dead speak up; citizen groups flag discrepancies in Delhi’s SIR draft roll - The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/i-am-not-dead-votersmarkeddead-speak-up-citizen-groups-flag-discrepancies-in-delhis-sir-draft-roll/article71444343.ece)

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