Several protesters were detained in central Delhi on Friday, October 23, as a march against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls moved towards the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters. Organised by the Delhi Coordination Committee of People Against SIR, the demonstration brought together groups opposing what they describe as the exclusion of eligible voters from electoral rolls.
Protesters demanded that the SIR exercise be withdrawn, alleged voter deletions be addressed and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign. Police stopped the march before it could reach the ECI headquarters, after which protesters held a “People’s Parliament”. The ECI, meanwhile, has maintained that the SIR is intended to update electoral rolls and has put in place mechanisms to re-enrol eligible voters who were left out.
Protesters Challenge SIR
The march began near Gole Dak Khana in central Delhi, with participants moving towards the ECI headquarters. The protest was called by People Against SIR, a collective that has brought together farmers, workers, students, civil-society groups and other organisations opposed to the electoral-roll revision. Demonstrators raised slogans against CEC Gyanesh Kumar and alleged that the SIR process could deprive eligible citizens of their right to vote.
When the police stopped the march, protesters held a “People’s Parliament” instead. Organisers had previously announced that they would conduct such a symbolic parliament if authorities prevented them from reaching the ECI headquarters. The demonstration was therefore used to reiterate their demands, including the withdrawal of SIR and restoration of voting rights for people they believe have been wrongly excluded.
What Protesters Allege
A central concern raised by the anti-SIR groups is the alleged deletion or exclusion of voters from electoral rolls. The People Against SIR platform has claimed that 13.41 crore voters have been disenfranchised across the country. This figure is a claim made by the protest organisers and should not be treated as an independently verified number.
The situation in Delhi provides a more specific picture of the scale of the revision. Delhi had around 1.45 crore electors before the SIR exercise. When the draft electoral roll was published on August 31, around 97.5 lakh electors were included, while approximately 47.5 lakh were classified as “uncollectible” and left out of the draft roll. The category includes voters marked absent, shifted, dead or duplicate, among other reasons.
Importantly, the 47.5 lakh figure does not mean that 47.5 lakh eligible voters have been proven to have been wrongly deleted. The Delhi Chief Electoral Officer has ordered a fresh door-to-door verification exercise to identify eligible people among those left out and facilitate their re-enrolment.
Notices And Reverification
The SIR process has also flagged around 33.1 lakh electors who were included in the draft roll for further verification. Of these, about 13.79 lakh received notices because they could not establish a link with the electoral roll from the previous intensive revision, while around 19.33 lakh were flagged for what officials termed “logical discrepancies” in their enumeration forms.
The Election Commission has sought to address these cases through the claims-and-objections process and additional verification. Booth Level Officers have been directed to undertake door-to-door visits and assist eligible voters who were left out in submitting Form 6, the application used for registration as an elector. The revised schedule gives residents until October 30 to submit claims and objections, while the final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on December 4.
The Delhi CEO’s office has also reported progress in resolving the cases involving notices. According to data reported earlier this month, around 20 lakh of the nearly 33 lakh flagged cases had been disposed of, although the wider verification exercise remains underway.
ECI’s Position
The Election Commission has maintained that SIR is aimed at improving the accuracy of electoral rolls by identifying ineligible, duplicate, shifted or otherwise unverified entries while ensuring that eligible citizens remain on the rolls. Authorities have stressed that people who are eligible but left out of the draft roll can seek re-enrolment through the prescribed process.
The protest comes amid a wider escalation over SIR in Delhi. Opposition parties and civil-society groups have repeatedly challenged the process and demanded greater transparency, while the Election Commission has defended the revision and taken steps to verify disputed entries. Earlier protests have also resulted in detentions, including demonstrations around Jantar Mantar and marches towards the ECI headquarters.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
The right to vote is fundamental to a democracy, and any process that changes electoral rolls must be transparent, accessible and carefully scrutinised. At the same time, allegations of mass disenfranchisement should be distinguished from verified electoral data, while election authorities have a responsibility to clearly explain how names are removed, how mistakes can be corrected and how eligible citizens can protect their voting rights.
Peaceful protest and institutional accountability can coexist when both sides prioritise dialogue over confrontation. Do you think the current SIR verification process provides enough safeguards for eligible voters, or should the Election Commission do more to build public trust?
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VIDEO | Delhi: Several protesters detained during a march against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in central Delhi. The protesters were heading towards the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters to protest against the alleged deletion of voters. https://t.co/XrcaoYnGpQ
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 23, 2026
