Kapil Sibal seeks SC intervention over ‘bulk deletions’ from voters’ lists

Former Union Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Wednesday (September 2, 2026) urged the Supreme Court to stop the “bulk deletions” taking place under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Mr. Sibal alleged that the ongoing SIR was aimed at helping the BJP win elections. In a post on X, he termed it “politics of exclusion”, and alleged that “BJP agents” were looking to “target Muslims, seek bulk deletions”. He added, “Supreme Court needs to stop this!”

Congress attacks BJP over exclusion of over 2 crore voters in Maharashtra SIR

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Mr. Sibal cited a report from Jharkhand, alleging that the form to request the deletion of names from the voters’ list was being filed in bulk by BJP workers. He said, “You can file bulk forms — you can take 45 of them, or 100 of them, or even 400 of them. You can file the forms, and you can say that this name should be deleted. You don’t have to give any reason for it, and if it is found to be false, it doesn’t matter.”

Form 7 is filed to object to an existing name on the electoral rolls or to request the deletion of a name due to reasons such as death, shifting, or ineligibility. The booth-level officer (BLO) or the electoral registration officer (ERO) concerned must then conduct an inquiry into the application and issue a notice to the voter before taking any action.

Also read | Deletions in recent SIRs suggest arbitrary application of reasons 

Earlier, The Hindu had reported that cases of Form 7 being submitted in bulk had surfaced in States like Rajasthan, Gujarat and Assam.

Mr. Sibal alleged that many people whose names were sought to be deleted were Muslims and had been living in their area for years. “Therefore, this is a very serious issue, and if courts don’t take care of this issue, if courts just believe that the SIR exercise is by a neutral Election Commission of India, then I think we are in deep trouble; this democracy will be in deep trouble,” he said.

“And this is going to happen in every State where an election takes place. Luckily, in this particular case in Jharkhand, even the BLO is objecting because the Opposition is in power… But where they [the BJP] are in power, who will object?” he asked.

His remarks come a day after both Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi flagged the exclusion of 2.06 crore names in the draft electoral rolls published in Maharashtra, alleging that votes were being added and deleted to ensure that the BJP wins.