The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Punjab's electoral rolls, a 30‑day enumeration drive that began on 25 June 2026, has become the epicenter of a legal showdown. In a press briefing, Pargat Singh accused the Election Commission of forcing the state party to sign off on a new Form 6 that he claims was introduced without a Supreme Court mandate. He maintains that Congress never signed any consent form, despite the Commission's assertion that parties had cooperated.
Hardeep Singh Kingra, the Congress coordinator for the SIR, said he had attended all meetings and that no attendance sheet bore a party signature. He filed written objections about data manipulation and claimed an official promised a reply the following day, yet no response arrived. Kingra's statement directly counters Chief Electoral Officer Anindita Mitra's claim that the party had given written approval.
Mitra counters that the draft roll contained 1.94 crore electors, and after the one‑month window for Form 6 applications, the final roll rose to 2.01 crore, adding roughly 80 lakh new voters and excising 86,000 names. She says the deletions were for deaths, permanent relocation, or duplicates, all done with the parties' written consent during the meeting on Monday.
The controversy hinges on whether the Commission's amendment to Form 6 was authorized under the Representation of the People Act or required a higher court order. Singh has requested that the court review the statutory provisions that grant the Chief Election Commissioner the power to issue such directives. The Commission, meanwhile, says it followed all procedural safeguards and that the Supreme Court had approved a similar directive in a separate case.
Nisha Bhatia, a 42‑year‑old farmer in Ludhiana, found her name removed from the draft list and now fears she might be unable to vote in the 2027 assembly polls. Her case illustrates the stakes for ordinary voters when the roll is altered without clear consent.
The Election Commission will hold a public hearing on 5 October 2026 to examine the evidence of consent and the legality of the Form 6 changes. The outcome could set a precedent for how electoral rolls are revised before future elections.