The Congress on Wednesday (May 27, 2026) said although the Supreme Court acknowledged the constitutional validity of the SIR (Special Intensive Revision) of electoral rolls, its verdict raised more questions than it answered.The Congress disagreed with the verdict and said legal sanction could confer prima facie legitimacy to the SIR but it could not cure the "malice in implementation".Congress senior spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the issue was always a matter of substance and intent but never of form, and the party had questioned the mode, manner, timing and style in which it was carried out by the Election Commission of India (ECI)."The Supreme Court has indeed acknowledged the constitutional validity of SIR, but in giving as many answers as the apex court has, it has also raised just as many questions," he told reporters at a press conference.Mr. Singhvi raised several shortcomings on the part of the ECI in conducting the exercise, which were challenged in the Supreme Court, and lamented that it was unfortunate that the Supreme Court made no comments on them."The SIR is always a matter of substance, never merely a matter of form. The issue was never about the power to conduct SIR. What was being questioned was the mode, manner, timing, and style in which it was being carried out," he said.Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, "The Supreme Court has given a finding on law. We can respectfully disagree with the verdict.""It was clearly a process rife with infirmities and based on mala fide. Legal sanction may confer prima facie legitimacy but it cannot cure malice in implementation," he said.He said the Supreme Court verdict stated that formal and final determination of citizenship cannot be done by the ECI and the power lies with the competent authority under the Citizenship Act: the Ministry of Home Affairs. Yet, the ECI has already excluded people on the basis of citizenship, he said, asking if this was not a contradiction.The Congress leader also pointed out to the short time taken in conducting the SIR in several States and asked why the ECI did not start the exercise in States where elections are being held a year later.He said the removal of the ECI list was done first and the adjudication of the exclusion done later and that was a major deprivation, which the Supreme Court should have addressed."Should this not have invited notice, findings, and comment from the Supreme Court?" he asked.He said the Congress and other parties raised several deficiencies, gaps, omissions, and errors on the part of the ECI, showing the poll body was in error and the gaps had to be filled through petitions filed by NGOs and political parties.The Congress leader said the Supreme Court stated in Para 156 and 158 that Aadhaar and ration card are not proof of citizenship. Yet, crores of people were excluded on the basis of deficiencies relating to these and other documents, he said.Mr. Singhvi said the ECI conducted the SIR in a short time period, which is why problems occurred. "It is unfortunate that the Supreme Court has not made any reference to these issues," he noted. "We hope and trust that some of these contradictions are settled," Mr. Singhvi stressed.In a post on X, Mr. Ramesh said, "We have seen how the SIR process was rushed by ECI without justification for the rush, how the obvious and running theme was to delete first ask questions later. So egregious and brazen was their haste that this very Supreme Court had to step in and implement guardrails."Was it not this very Supreme Court that - directed the ECI to publish lists of deleted voters they wished to keep hidden; that made them publish reasons for deletion which they should have done in the first place; and that mandated Aadhar be accepted when ECI tried to refuse," the Congress leader said.Delivering a major victory for the ECI, the Supreme Court on Wednesday (May 27, 2026) upheld its power to conduct a Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls and said the exercise "breathes life" into the constitutional mandate for fair elections.Ruling on the intensely debated issue, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant held that the exercise advances the "constitutional imperative of free and fair elections".The Bench, also comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi, said the poll panel was empowered under Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act to carry out special revisions.Disposing of a batch of petitions challenging the SIR exercise in Bihar, the apex court also held that deletion from the voter list does not amount to a legal declaration that an individual is not a citizen.