New Delhi/Chennai, November 23, 2025 – In a bold move to safeguard the voting rights of marginalized communities, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) president and Chidambaram MP Thol Thirumavalavan has approached the Supreme Court of India with a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against the Election Commission of India's (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu. The petition, filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, alleges that the ongoing exercise risks mass disenfranchisement of Dalits, Adivasis, women, migrant workers, and the working class ahead of the 2026 state assembly elections.
The PIL seeks to quash the ECI's notification dated October 27, 2025, which initiated the SIR across Tamil Nadu, describing it as "manifestly arbitrary, non-transparent, and unconstitutional." Thirumavalavan argues that the rushed timeline—less than a year before the polls—combined with procedural flaws, could lead to large-scale wrongful deletions, disproportionately affecting vulnerable groups who face barriers like seasonal migration, lack of documentation, digital illiteracy, and geographical isolation.
"This SIR is not just an administrative exercise; it's a threat to the very soul of democracy," Thirumavalavan stated in the petition, emphasizing that even facially neutral measures become unconstitutional if they indirectly discriminate against disadvantaged communities. He invoked the Supreme Court's doctrines on indirect discrimination from judgments like *Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India* and *Sukanya Shantha v. Union of India*, asserting violations of Articles 14 (equality), 15 (non-discrimination), 17 (abolition of untouchability), 19 (freedoms), 21 (life and dignity), 325 (no discrimination in elections), and 326 (adult suffrage).
#### Historical Precedents and Procedural Lapses
The petition draws on Tamil Nadu's troubled history with SIRs, citing the 2002 exercise where the ECI admitted "procedural lapses" leading to undue deletions, and the 2005 revision that reportedly removed over 50 lakh voters—many from tribal areas—ahead of the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. In 2016, tribal communities in the state raised alarms over fraudulent deletions, further underscoring the risks to Adivasis.
Thirumavalavan contends that the current SIR deviates from the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, by replacing home-based verification with form-based procedures that lack safeguards like prior notice or a hearing opportunity, as mandated in *Lal Babu Hussein v. Electoral Registration Officer*. This, he claims, imposes undue burdens on Dalit laborers who migrate for work, Adivasi families in remote hills facing linguistic hurdles, women without updated addresses post-marriage, and the elderly or disabled lacking digital access—effectively creating "soft disenfranchisement" that erodes the right to vote and democratic legitimacy.
The timing adds to the concerns: Tamil Nadu completed a Special Summary Revision (SSR) between October 2024 and January 2025, updating rolls without reported issues. No justification has been provided for this additional SIR, which the petition labels as an overreach.
#### Allegations of Political Interference
In a related public statement on November 19, Thirumavalavan accused "political forces aligned with the BJP" of manipulating the process through mass objections and even relocating voters from other states to skew demographics in key constituencies. He highlighted "unnatural" deletion patterns in areas with high Dalit and minority populations, warning that such tactics could "distort the democratic rights" of these groups and undermine Tamil Nadu's reputation for electoral integrity.
The VCK leader has called for immediate intervention, urging the ECI to deploy special observers, verify all deletion requests, and publish constituency-wise data on additions and removals for transparency. In response, the party has planned a major protest in Chennai on November 24 to halt the SIR, along with submitting a detailed memorandum to the state's chief electoral officer. He also appealed to INDIA bloc parties for a united front to protect voting rights.
#### Broader Context and Court Outlook
The SIR, based on ECI guidelines initially drafted for Bihar in June 2025, aims to intensify scrutiny of voter lists but has sparked fears of voter suppression in multiple states. Thirumavalavan's PIL echoes a similar challenge filed by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which the Supreme Court is slated to hear on November 26. As of now, the court has not issued any interim orders on Thirumavalavan's petition.
This development comes amid heightened scrutiny of electoral processes in India, with activists and opposition leaders arguing that such revisions could silence the voices of the most marginalized—precisely the communities Dr. B.R. Ambedkar envisioned as pillars of universal franchise. The outcome could set a precedent for how intensive revisions balance accuracy with inclusivity in the world's largest democracy.
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