Election Commission allows online hearings in exceptional cases and extends claims and objections deadline in Delhi and Maharashtra
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India on Saturday announced a series of measures to simplify the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, including home visits by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) for voters facing notices over unmapped records or logical discrepancies.
At a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and attended by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi at Nirvachan Sadan, the Commission said such voters need not ordinarily appear before the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO).
BLOs will collect the required documents from their homes and upload them on the ECINet for the ERO’s decision. Hearings will be held only in exceptional cases, preferably online. An adult family member may also attend on behalf of an elector when authorised.
The ECI also directed District Election Officers to establish help desks and special camps for night-shelter residents, labourers, homeless people and other vulnerable groups.
The deadline for filing claims and objections in Delhi has been extended to October 30, with disposal allowed until November 30. In Maharashtra, the corresponding deadlines have been extended to October 12 and November 10.
The Commission also announced an independent review of the ECINet system involving an expert from IIT/IIIT and said all new IT initiatives would be discussed by a Committee of Officers before approval.
The ECI reiterated that SIR decisions issued since June 2025 were taken with the unanimous approval of the full Commission.
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