The Supreme Court rejected the idea of clubbing a petition challenging the Election Commission of India's Maharashtra SIR (Special Intensive Revision) with a similar petition initiated by Rahul Gandhi and others.

A Bench headed by the CJI Surya Kant said that disputes pertained to the revision process of electoral rolls at the state level and, therefore, each petition should be heard independently, according to Live Law.

The Maharashtra petition alleged that more than one crore voters had been wrongly deleted from the electoral rolls due to some "logical inconsistencies". The petitioner also claimed that about 33% voters had been removed from the rolls through the SIR, which was alleged to be a ploy to dilute the voting power of a particular community.

During the course of the hearing, the Bench proposed to give notice to the petitioner directly and explore the option of issuing a dasti notice to the petitioner in view of the voluminous documents filed.

EC extends Maharashtra SIR claims/objections deadline to October 26

Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided to extend the deadline for filing claims/objections to the draft electoral roll for Maharashtra by one month till October 26, 2026.

The draft electoral roll was published on August 31 with October 1, 2026, as the last date for objections. Under the new deadline, eligible voters have till October 26 to apply for inclusion in the electoral rolls, edit personal details, and file claims or objections to the electoral roll.

The process of sending notices to voters and resolving claims and objections will conclude on November 10. As per the new timeline, the final electoral roll will be published on November 16, as scheduled.

Voters requested to complete formalities in time

All eligible voters whose names have been left out or whose information needs to be updated should complete the formalities by October 26. New voters and those eligible to vote in the polls should also complete the application process before the deadline, said the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtra.

Maharashtra SIR petition questions voter deletions

The petition questioning the deletions of more than one crore voters in Maharashtra through the SIR process will determine the fate of the electoral roll revision. However, at this juncture, it must be noted that the allegations of over one crore voter deletions and 33% voter deletions have been made by petitioners. The claims have not been found to be substantiated by the Supreme Court yet.

The Supreme Court's indicated preference of hearing such petitions on a state-wise basis may have implications for such challenges elsewhere. Maharashtra's SIR process and the objections process will continue to be heard by the Apex Court, as the final electoral roll is due to be published on November 16.