EC halts physical SIR hearings, directs BLOs to collect documents from voters’ homes

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Sep 29, 2026: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has suspended physical hearings for voters who received notices over missing previous Special Intensive Revision (SIR) data and logical discrepancies, and directed Booth-Level Officers (BLOs) to collect the required documents from their homes.

The decision has left many voters who received notices in a dilemma over whether to attend hearings at the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) or Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) offices as scheduled or wait for BLOs to visit their homes.

In a press note issued on September 26, the ECI directed that all physical hearings in states undergoing SIR be suspended. The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Karnataka, subsequently instructed that BLOs visit flagged voters at their residences, collect one of the 11 documents approved by the ECI and upload the documents on the ECINET portal for verification and approval by the ERO.

District Election Officers (DEOs) have also been directed to establish adequate help desks for voters who wish to submit their documents. An AERO said people had continued to visit hearing centres to submit documents despite the suspension of physical hearings.

In exceptional cases, the ERO may decide to conduct a hearing, preferably online. A flagged voter may also authorise an adult family member to attend the hearing on their behalf, while the Election Commission is required to facilitate online hearings.

Of the 43.82 lakh notices issued for SIR hearings in Karnataka, 28.80 lakh hearings had been completed and 12.82 lakh remained pending as of September 26. The last date for hearings had earlier been fixed as October 12.

The ECI’s decision followed concerns raised by citizen rights groups over the difficulties faced by poor people, daily-wage workers and homeless persons in attending hearings. The Commission has now directed DEOs to organise special camps in localities based on the requirements of people living in night shelters and those unable to attend hearings.

People whose names are left out of the electoral roll during or after the SIR process, as well as first-time voters, can apply for inclusion through Form 6 under the continuous updation process.

However, such applications will not be reflected in the final electoral rolls scheduled to be published on October 27 and will instead be included in a supplementary voter list. CEOs have been instructed to launch a special enrolment drive for such electors.

An election official said Forms 6, 7 and 8 received before the September 23 deadline would be processed.