BKU Azad Trust Moves Supreme Court, Seeks 3-Month Extension for Uttar Pradesh Voter Roll Revision

New Delhi, November 29, 2025: The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Azad Trust has approached the Supreme Court seeking a three-month extension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls currently underway in Uttar Pradesh. The organisation argued that the ongoing four-week timeline is insufficient for a voter base of more than 15.35 crore people and could result in wrongful deletions, errors, and large-scale disenfranchisement, especially among rural voters.

The Election Commission launched the SIR exercise in Uttar Pradesh on November 4 under the theme “Shuddh Nirvachak Namavali – Majboot Loktantra” (Clean Electoral Roll – Strong Democracy). Booth-level officers have been tasked with visiting every household until December 4 to verify and update voter details. The petitioner claims this timeline is “administratively impossible” to meet and may compromise the accuracy of the electoral roll.

On October 27, the Election Commission announced the second phase of the SIR exercise across 12 states and Union territories, scheduled between November 2025 and February 2026. These regions include Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Among them, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and Puducherry are set to hold elections in 2026. Assam, which will also go to polls the same year, will have a separate SIR notification.

Under the current schedule, the EC will publish the draft electoral rolls on December 9, followed by the final rolls on February 7.

Multiple petitions are already pending before the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission’s June 24, 2025 SIR notification. The EC’s October 27 notification has also faced legal scrutiny, with petitioners calling it a “constitutional overreach” and alleging that the Commission lacks the authority to enforce such an extensive revision.