BREAKING| UP SIR Timeline ‘Arbitrary and Unrealistic’: Farmers’ Union Moves SC for Three-Month Extension

The Petitioner emphasised that the challenge is not to the SIR itself, but only to the compressed time frame which, it argues, risks widespread and arbitrary disenfranchisement.

Filed as a public interest litigation, the petition describes the Trust as a non-partisan organisation working across rural Uttar Pradesh to strengthen democratic participation among farmers and rural labourers. It states that despite submitting a representation to the Election Commission seeking more time for the SIR, no remedial action has followed, prompting the present plea.

The petition filed through AoR Ansar Ahmed Chaudhary and drawn by Advocates Charu Mathur, Md. Anas Chaudhary, Snehla Chaudhary and Alia Bano Zaidi underscores that the SIR is a welcome and essential democratic exercise, but insists that the four-week window is “manifestly inadequate” for a statewide, house-to-house verification.

The Trust seeks an extension solely to ensure accuracy of entries, proper disposal of claims and objections, inclusion of new or migrated voters, and protection against mass deletions caused by hurried verification. The Request, it stresses, aligns with the constitutional mandate of universal adult suffrage under Article 326.

Citing the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, the petition notes that the law prescribes no fixed duration for such revisions and that timelines must be “reasonable, practicable and non-arbitrary”.

The petition highlights that past intensive revisions; 13 rounds from 1952 to 2004, were conducted over extended periods, with the last such exercise taking nearly two years. The ongoing SIR is the first multi-state effort in more than two decades, making adequate time and procedural fairness essential.

The Trust also details socio-economic and seasonal barriers facing rural voters. The SIR coincides with peak sugarcane harvesting, during which farmers and labourers are either fully occupied or migrate to other states. Illiteracy, limited access to Booth Level Officers, and mobility challenges for women and the elderly further exacerbate the risk of exclusion.

Serious concerns are raised regarding the use of untrained volunteers such as Anganwadi workers, NCC and NSS participants for door-to-door verification. The petition contends that these volunteers are not recognised under the statutory framework, have no formal training or confidentiality obligations, and are being handed sensitive personal information; posing significant data security and privacy risks at a time when “digital arrest” scams are rampant.

The petition also flags overburdening of Booth Level Officers, many of whom are school teachers compelled to complete an “impossible workload” within an unrealistic timeline. The Trust cites media reports noting extreme stress and even suicides linked to administrative pressure in other states during similar revisions.

Arguing that Uttar Pradesh faces no imminent Assembly or Parliamentary elections, the Trust asserts that there is no election-linked urgency justifying the compressed timeline. It proposes practical safeguards including special camps, trained personnel to assist vulnerable citizens, mandatory acknowledgment receipts for all submissions, and designated grievance officers at the block level.

Contending that the four-week time frame violates Articles 14, 19(1)(a), 21 and 326 of the Constitution, the Trust urges the Supreme Court to grant a reasonable extension to ensure the SIR is conducted with fairness, transparency and procedural integrity.

The petition concludes that it seeks not to obstruct the SIR, but to protect millions of rural and marginalised voters from being excluded due to administrative haste.