According to the information available, the Election Commission has sent letters to the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of the concerned states, setting November 30 as the deadline for publishing the final electoral rolls in Nagaland, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Haryana. For Delhi, the final voter list will now be published on December 22.
The decision came a day after the Supreme Court heard a petition concerning the SIR process in Delhi. The top court had asked the Election Commission to consider extending the October 30 deadline for filing claims and objections. During the hearing, the court raised several questions about the procedures being followed, particularly regarding voters whose names had been removed from the draft electoral rolls.
Considering the right to vote extremely important, the Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Election Commission to develop a mechanism to reach approximately 47 lakh voters in Delhi whose names had been deleted from the draft electoral roll during the SIR exercise.
The Supreme Court questioned why voters whose names were already present in the electoral rolls but had subsequently been removed from the draft list were being asked to submit Form 6 to get their names included again. Form 6 is meant for first-time voter registration.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana questioned why voters already included in the 2026 electoral rolls were required to fill out Form 6. The bench also advised the Election Commission against imposing a deadline and suggested that it accept the SIR forms of voters whose names had been deleted instead of requiring them to submit Forms 6, 7 and 8.
The Election Commission has now taken an important decision by reopening the claims and objections process in five states. The window had previously closed on different dates over the past two months. The deadlines had ended on October 26 in Maharashtra, September 30 in Haryana, October 7 in Telangana, October 22 in Andhra Pradesh and October 20 in Nagaland.
Under the revised schedule, voters in Maharashtra can now submit claims and objections until November 13. The deadline has been extended to November 20 in Andhra Pradesh and Haryana, November 25 in Nagaland and November 26 in Telangana.
Delhi has also received an extension. Voters can now submit claims and objections until November 25 instead of the earlier deadline of October 30. The deadline for disposing of claims has been extended from November 30 to December 15, while the final electoral roll will be published on December 22.
Earlier, on May 14, the Election Commission had launched the third phase of the Special Intensive Revision in 19 states and Union Territories. The exercise has so far been completed in 24 states and Union Territories.
Under the Election Commission's rules, registered voters are required to submit forms during the enumeration phase to be included in the draft electoral roll. The names of those who fail to submit the forms are removed from the draft list. However, voters whose names are missing from the draft electoral roll can claim inclusion again by submitting Form 6.
Apart from new voters, individuals seeking the removal of incorrect entries can also file objections through Form 7. The extension of deadlines and reopening of the claims window are expected to provide another opportunity to millions of citizens whose names could not be included in the draft electoral rolls for various reasons.
The revised schedule follows the Supreme Court's intervention and addresses concerns over the exclusion of existing voters, making the extended claims and objections period a significant development in the ongoing nationwide SIR exercise.
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