The Supreme Court on Friday issued a crucial clarification regarding the use of electoral rolls for local body elections in Andhra Pradesh, ruling that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls cannot be used as a ground to delay the polls. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana stated that if the revised SIR rolls are not published before the election notification, the existing electoral rolls must be used.

The clarification came during the hearing of a challenge to the Andhra Pradesh High Court's October 1 order, which had directed the State Election Commission (SEC) and the state government to commence the election process expeditiously, preferably within six weeks. The High Court had noted that the terms of urban local bodies expired on March 17, 2026, and Gram Panchayats on April 2, 2026, leaving the state's local governance without elected representatives.

The Core Ruling on Applicable Rolls

The bench examined the interplay between the ongoing SIR exercise by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the election notification by the SEC. The ECI had indicated that the final SIR rolls would be published on October 16, 2026. The Supreme Court clarified that if the election notification is issued before this date, the elections will be conducted using the existing electoral rolls as per the applicable state laws. Conversely, if the SIR exercise is completed and the final rolls are published before the notification, the revised rolls will govern the elections.

Senior Advocate C. Aryama Sundaram, appearing for the petitioner, argued that the High Court's direction based on electoral rolls as of January 1, 2026, could not be sustained if the SIR was completed. He submitted that the ECI had indicated the revision was in its final phase, with approximately 44 lakh voters removed from the rolls. The bench, however, clarified that an ongoing revision does not automatically invalidate the existing roll.

Senior Advocate K. Parameshwar, representing the SEC, submitted that elections had not yet been notified and that the existing rolls would continue to apply until a fresh list was published by the ECI. The court accepted this position, noting that the SEC had not yet issued the election notification.

High Court's Six-Week Deadline and the Precedent

The Andhra Pradesh High Court had earlier directed the SEC and the state government to start the election process within six weeks, relying on the Supreme Court's judgment in Lakshmi Charan Sen v. A.K.M. Hassan Uzzaman. That precedent held that an ongoing revision of electoral rolls does not, by itself, invalidate the existing rolls or justify postponing elections. The High Court rejected the contention that local body elections should await completion of the ECI's SIR exercise.

The Supreme Court bench examined the relevant provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act, 1994, and the Andhra Pradesh Municipalities Act, 1995, which govern the preparation of electoral rolls for local bodies. Section 11 of the Panchayat Raj Act provides for the preparation of electoral rolls with reference to a prescribed qualifying date and incorporates the electoral rolls prepared under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, as revised or amended up to the relevant qualifying date.

Sundaram argued that the corresponding provisions of the Representation of the People Act had to be read alongside the provisions governing subsequent revisions of electoral rolls. He submitted that if the SIR exercise was completed before the elections, the revised rolls should be used. He also referred to the statutory provisions governing the inclusion of new voters and corrections to existing entries, arguing that the applicable electoral roll would depend on when the revision was completed and the election notification was issued.

Practical Impact on Election Schedule

The bench clarified that the existing electoral rolls would remain applicable until the ECI published the revised list, and that a revision undertaken during the election process would not automatically invalidate the roll already in force. This balanced approach respects both the need for accurate electoral rolls and the imperative of timely elections.

With the Supreme Court's clarification, the path is now clear for the SEC to notify the local body elections. The SEC must decide whether to issue the notification before or after October 16. If the notification is issued before the final SIR publication, the elections will proceed on the basis of the existing electoral rolls. If delayed beyond that date, the revised rolls will apply.

The ruling ensures that the election process in Andhra Pradesh will move forward without being held up by the ongoing revision exercise. The state's local bodies have been without elected representatives since March and April 2026, and the High Court had emphasized the need for early polls. The SEC is expected to announce the election schedule shortly, given the High Court's six-week timeline. The Supreme Court's order removes any ambiguity and allows the electoral machinery to proceed.

The next expected development is the issuance of the election notification by the SEC, which will determine the applicable electoral roll. The Supreme Court's clarification provides a practical solution: elections need not wait for the completion of the SIR, but if the revision is finished in time, the updated rolls will be used.