The old voter list stays in play for Andhra Pradesh local body polls, but only as a fallback. The Supreme Court has said the revised SIR roll will be the final list if it is published before the elections are notified. If it is not ready by then, the polls will go ahead on the old roll.
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New Delhi: On Friday, the Supreme Court said that the revised roll prepared in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Andhra Pradesh shall be the final voter list for the State’s local body elections, provided it is published before the elections are notified. If it is not, the elections will be conducted on the old electoral roll in compliance with Sections 11 and 12 of the respective Acts [Andhra Pradesh SIR Matter].
The matter was heard by a Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, hearing a challenge to a High Court direction to hold the elections on the January 1, 2026 electoral roll and to begin the process within six weeks. The report of the hearing does not give a case number or the title of the petition.
Two outcomes, one condition
The order, as dictated in Court, begins by recording where matters stood. The High Court had directed the State Election Commission to expeditiously commence the process of holding elections, preferably in six weeks. The elections are governed by State legislation, including the APPRA 1994 and the APMCA 1995, and the High Court held that the electoral roll shall conform to Section 11 of the APPRA. The ECI issued a press note on September 30 proposing to publish the final list on October 16. The State Election Commission has not yet notified the elections, and its senior counsel stated that they will be notified in the period given by the High Court. The Court then said:
“we have no reason to doubt that the revised SIR electoral roll shall be the final voter list for the elections”
subject to the SIR being completed in time. The order adds:
“if for some reason, final SIR roll is not published before date of notification of elections, such elections shall be conducted as per old electoral roll in compliance to S.11 and 12 of respective Acts.”
The order text above is taken from LawChakra’s courtroom report of the dictation. The written order has not been reviewed, and the report contains an elided portion on the date by which the SIR must be completed. No view is expressed on the correctness of counsel’s figures.
Counsel’s case for the SIR roll
Senior Advocate Sundaram told the Court that 44 lakh voters have been removed in the SIR because they do not exist, that new voters have been added, and that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has said it will complete the process by October 16. These are counsel’s submissions. He argued that under Section 21 of the Municipal and Panchayat Act the latest SIR electoral roll must be followed, and that the previous roll applies only if it is unavailable.
The ECI, he added, had issued a press note saying Andhra Pradesh is in the final phase and the final list will be published within a week. In those circumstances, he argued, the High Court’s direction to use the January 1, 2026 roll and start the elections within six weeks cannot stand.
Mr Sundaram also referred to Sections 21 and 22 of the Representation of the People Act, arguing that the statutory provisions must be distinguished, and said: “I am just saying they should go by the SIR if it is completed by November 12, 2026.” He submitted that fresh inclusions cannot be made to an electoral roll already finalised immediately before elections, while corrections such as spelling changes can still be incorporated.
On the other side of the table, the State Election Commission told the Court that the elections have not been notified yet.
From the Bench
The Chief Justice said that only two categories needed to be taken care of: those who are no longer alive, and those who have shifted elsewhere and are registered there. He asked the State Election Commission whether it disputed that, if a revised list is published after the SIR, elections announced after October 16 would be held on that revised list.
Justice Bagchi observed that the roll published on October 16 would account for corrections involving duplicate entries and voters who have shifted elsewhere, and said: “There is nothing controversial here. We cannot direct the ECI to do a hasty job. Then it will fall back on the past list.” He also said that a published list of voters exists for every constituency, that the old list applies until a fresh list is published, and that a continuing revision in the midst of elections will not affect the earlier list.
Indicating the clarification the Court would make, he said the final list should be prepared contemporaneously with the notification, and that either the January 1, 2026 roll or the latest published roll would apply.
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Case Details: Andhra Pradesh SIR matter (challenge to High Court direction on the electoral roll for local body elections) | Court: Supreme Court of India | Bench: CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi | Heard: October 9, 2026 | Status: Order dictated; revised SIR roll to be final voter list if published before notification, otherwise old roll under Sections 11 and 12 of the respective Acts. Case number and petition title not reported.
Appearances: Senior Advocate Sundaram (first name and the party represented not stated in the report); senior counsel for the State Election Commission.