Former Election Commissioner Flags 'Infirmities' in Voter Revision Process, Seeks Inquiry into Poll Impact

Former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa has said the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is "full of infirmities" and suggested a commission of inquiry to examine whether mass voter deletions affected election outcomes. In an interview, Lavasa stated that if a link between voter list discrepancies in West Bengal constituencies and poll results is established, fresh elections would be necessary.

Lavasa noted that while phases one and two of SIR are complete and elections held on those rolls, phase three covering approximately 49-50 crore people remains incomplete with only draft rolls prepared. He said the Supreme Court or ECI could pause, scrap phase three, and revert to earlier legally valid rolls, with routine revision continuing for deaths, relocations and duplicates.

In West Bengal, 60 lakh people flagged for logical discrepancies faced adjudication. Judicial officers found 33 lakh were wrongly flagged and restored them, leaving 27 lakh excluded. Of these 27.6 lakh affected, 22.5 lakh have appealed, but the appellate tribunal has decided only 1.26 lakh cases.