SIR Deadline Extended: Delhi Voters Get Until 25 November, Five States Get Final Rolls on 30 November — What Changed and What to Do
Key Takeaways
- The Election Commission extended SIR deadlines on 29 October 2026 for Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Nagaland and Delhi.
- Delhi voters can now file claims and objections until 25 November 2026, and Delhi's final roll will be published on 22 December 2026.
- Maharashtra's claims deadline moved from 26 October to 13 November 2026, with its final roll on 30 November 2026.
- The other four states also publish final rolls on 30 November 2026, with disposal deadlines of 20 November (Haryana, Andhra Pradesh), 25 November (Nagaland) and 26 November (Telangana).
- Voters should check the draft roll on the Voters' Service Portal and file any claim or correction within their state's new deadline.
What has happened
The Election Commission of India on Thursday, 29 October 2026, extended the schedule for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in five states and the Union Territory of Delhi. The states covered are Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Nagaland, along with Delhi. The extension gives voters more time to file claims and objections — the formal process by which a person can seek inclusion in the voter list, correction of details, or deletion of an incorrect entry.
Under the revised schedule, the final electoral rolls for Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Nagaland will be published on 30 November 2026. Delhi will follow a separate, later timetable, with its final roll scheduled for publication on 22 December 2026. The Commission said it acted on requests from the chief electoral officers of the states and Delhi, and directed that the revised schedule be publicised widely so that eligible voters have sufficient opportunity to get their names included or corrected.
This is the third extension of the exercise in this phase, according to reporting on the announcement. The revision comes two days after the Supreme Court took a firm stance on deadlines in the Delhi revision, questioning a rigid cut-off date and the requirement for previously registered voters to file fresh forms. The timing of the Commission's move, so soon after the court's observations, is part of why the extension has drawn attention beyond the six territories directly affected.
The revised dates, state by state
The headline dates differ by state because each state is at a different stage of processing claims and objections.
In Delhi, the change is the largest. The deadline for filing claims and objections has moved from 30 October to 25 November 2026 — an extension of 26 days. The period for issuing notices and disposing of claims and objections has moved from 30 November to 15 December. The final electoral roll will now be published on 22 December, more than three weeks after the other five territories.
In Maharashtra, the deadline for filing claims and objections has moved from 26 October to 13 November. Notices can be issued and claims and objections disposed of until 25 November, and the final roll will be published on 30 November.
In Haryana and Andhra Pradesh, claims and objections will be disposed of by 20 November, ahead of final publication on 30 November. In Nagaland, the notice and disposal period runs until 25 November, and in Telangana until 26 November, with both states publishing their final rolls on 30 November.
Two details are worth noting. First, the draft rolls in Delhi and Maharashtra were published on 31 August, with a qualifying date of 1 October 2026 in Delhi — the date on which a person must be 18 or older to be eligible. Second, the Commission acted under the proviso to Rule 12 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, in Delhi's case, on a request from the Delhi chief electoral officer. These procedural details matter because they are the legal basis on which the dates were changed, not simply an administrative favour.
What SIR is, and why it matters
The Special Intensive Revision is an exercise to update and verify electoral rolls through extensive field verification. Unlike a routine summary revision, which mainly updates the existing list, an intensive revision involves house-to-house verification and a fresh look at who is on the roll. The aim, as the Commission presents it, is accuracy: ensuring that every eligible citizen is listed, and that entries that are duplicate, shifted, or otherwise incorrect are removed or corrected.
The current phase — Phase 3 — was announced on 14 May 2026 and covers 16 states and three Union Territories. With its completion, the exercise will have covered the entire country except Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, according to reporting on the phase. That scale explains why the exercise has been politically sensitive: the voter list is the foundation of every election, and any change to it — an addition, a deletion, or a delay — is watched closely by parties, candidates, and voters alike.
This sensitivity is visible in recent weeks. In Delhi, for example, reporting has highlighted large numbers of deletion applications, with booth-level agents filing objections against voters at their addresses. The Supreme Court's intervention this week — asking the Commission not to insist on a rigid cut-off and to continue processing applications while verifying documents — reflects the court's concern that genuine voters should not lose their franchise because of a deadline or a paperwork requirement. The extension gives that concern practical effect: more time to file, and more time to dispose of claims properly.
What voters in these states should do now
For an ordinary voter, the extension is useful only if it is used. The practical steps are straightforward.
First, check whether your name is on the draft electoral roll. This can be done through the Election Commission's Voters' Service Portal, or with the help of the local booth-level officer. Second, if your name is missing, or if details such as your name, address, or age are wrong, file a claim or objection within the new deadline for your state — 25 November in Delhi, 13 November in Maharashtra, and the corresponding disposal windows elsewhere. Third, keep the documents that support your claim ready, since verification is part of the process and the court has emphasised that applications should continue to be processed while documents are verified, rather than being rejected outright for a missing paper at the first step.
Voters should also be cautious about rumours. Claims that a whole community or neighbourhood has been deleted, or that registration has closed permanently, circulate quickly during revision exercises. The reliable check is the official roll and the Voters' Service Portal, not a forwarded message. Equally, the extension does not mean the process is open-ended: the new deadlines are firm dates in the revised schedule, and the final rolls will be published on 30 November or, in Delhi's case, 22 December.
Why repeated extensions are themselves a story
That this is the third extension in this phase is not a trivial detail. Repeated revisions to a schedule can happen for legitimate administrative reasons — the sheer volume of claims, the time needed for field verification, and requests from state officers on the ground. But each extension also carries a cost: it compresses the time available for the next stage, it creates uncertainty for voters about which date applies, and it invites questions about whether the original timetable was realistic.
The Commission's direction that the revised schedule be publicised widely is therefore important. A deadline that voters do not know about is no better than a deadline that has already passed. State chief electoral officers, district election officers, and booth-level officers all have a role in making sure the new dates reach the people most likely to be affected — first-time voters, people who have recently moved, and those whose names were flagged for deletion.
There is also a wider institutional point. The Supreme Court's questioning of a rigid deadline, followed within two days by an extension, illustrates how the revision process is being shaped by both the Commission and the courts. That is not unusual in Indian election administration, where the Commission's independence and the courts' oversight often interact. What matters for voters is the outcome: a roll that is as accurate as possible, produced through a process that gives people a genuine chance to be heard.
Conclusion
The Election Commission's extension of SIR deadlines in Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Nagaland and Delhi gives voters in those territories more time — until 25 November for claims in Delhi, 13 November in Maharashtra, and final rolls on 30 November elsewhere, with Delhi's final roll on 22 December. For anyone whose name is missing or incorrect, the next step is simple: check the draft roll, file the claim or correction in time, and use the official Voters' Service Portal for guidance. The voter list decides who can vote; a few weeks of extra time, used well, can make the difference between being on it and being left off.