While Supreme Court upholds legality of SIR, Chief Election Commissioner says ECI will always be with voters

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. File | Photo credit: The Hindu

As the Supreme Court upheld the legality of the special intensive review (SIR) of electoral rolls conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI), Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Wednesday (May 27, 2026) said the ECI “was, is and always will be” with voters.

“The first step towards nation building is voting. Every citizen of India who has attained the age of 18 should therefore become a voter and should always vote in accordance with the constitution, election laws, rules and guidelines issued therein,” the CEC said in a video message.

“EC was, is and always will be with the voters,” he added.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (May 27, 2026) upheld the SIR of electoral rolls as an exercise carried out by the ECI to uphold the constitutional principle of free and fair elections.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant rejected the petitioners’ view that the SIR was a secret, backdoor move to carry out citizenship verification in the name of cleaning the electoral roll of aliens.

Published – 27 May 2026 20:06 IST