Maha: ECI revises SIR schedule, final roll on Nov 16

Mumbai, Sep 26 (IANS) The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday issued a revised schedule for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in Maharashtra, setting October 1, 2026, as the qualifying date. 

The directive, released by Under Secretary Sandeep Kumar, supersedes previous timelines and extends key operational phases across the state.

According to the updated schedule issued to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Maharashtra, the period for filing claims and objections will run from August 31 to October 12. The notice phase and disposal of claims and objections will continue until November 10, with the final publication of electoral rolls scheduled for November 16.

The revised plan follows a request made by State CEO S. Chockalingam on September 24, 2026. The Commission instructed the CEO to publish the notification in an extraordinary issue of the State Gazette and to launch awareness campaigns to inform citizens of the extended deadlines.

ECI also accepted the CEO’s proposal to update the notice procedure during the ongoing SIR 2026 exercise. In a communication to senior officials Maneesh Garg, Seema Khanna and Pawan Diwan, the CEO highlighted issues with notices issued to electors flagged as “unmapped” or with “logical discrepancies.”

While existing guidelines exempt “Prominent Persons” and “Overseas Electors” from personal hearings, no technical provision exists for other categories.

Referring to Rule 20(3) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, the CEO requested an operational update to the ECINET system.

The proposal added a third option, “Exempted from Hearing”, to the “Take Action” portal for Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant EROs.

Under this framework, if an elector submits valid documentation in response to a notice, they can be exempted from attending a physical hearing.

Personal appearances would be required only if documents are insufficient or missing.

The CEO noted that senior citizens, Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), vulnerable groups, and unflagged prominent citizens often face constraints that prevent physical appearance. Implementing the update would reduce hardship and streamline verification.

ECI is expected to review the proposal for deployment on the ECINET portal.

The move comes after opposition parties, including Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Samajwadi Party (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT), sought extensions to file and dispose of claims and objections.

Congress MLA Amin Patel of Mumbadevi welcomed the revised schedule, saying voters in Mumbai and Maharashtra would benefit from the extended deadlines and exemption provisions.

Earlier, the ECI had postponed the publication of the final electoral roll to November 4, 2026.

The latest directive further extends the timeline to November 16.

--IANS

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