The Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned whether the Election Commission of India (ECI) has unchecked powers to depart from its own rules and the Representation of the People (RP) Act while carrying out the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said the process of revising voter lists must be fair and follow principles of natural justice, as it can affect a person’s civil rights. The court asked whether the EC’s powers could be treated as an “unruly horse” beyond regulation or judicial review.

The observations came while hearing petitions filed by opposition parties and the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), which have alleged that the EC is not following its own rules during the SIR exercise.

Justice Joymala Bagchi stressed that no authority can have unregulated powers and pointed out that the law itself lays down safeguards and procedures for intensive revision of electoral rolls.

Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the EC, argued that the Commission is following the procedure prescribed under the RP Act and that its actions are guided by fairness, due process, and constitutional principles, including Article 326.

The court said it will examine whether the EC’s conduct in carrying out the SIR is in line with the law and the prescribed procedure.