Supreme Court Upholds Bihar SIR and Defines Election Commission’s Citizenship-Scrutiny Power

On 27 May 2026, the Supreme Court in Association for Democratic Reforms v. Election Commission of India, 2026 INSC 564, upheld the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of Bihar’s electoral rolls. The Court held that the Commission could order the revision under Article 324 and Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and could undertake a limited inquiry into citizenship when deciding electoral-roll eligibility. It distinguished that electoral scrutiny from final adjudication of citizenship, which remains with the legally competent authority. The judgment became a central legal foundation for the wider SIR controversy that later expanded nationally and triggered major protests in October.