The Election Commission of India ( ECI ) has declined to disclose the name and version of the software it used to identify errors and anomalies in voter rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, saying the information relates to “commercial confidence, trade secrets and intellectual property” and is exempt under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
The panel, which has faced criticism amid allegations of irregularities in the controversial roll revision exercise, also said that “no new software has been developed or procured for the SIR exercise,” and that electoral registration officers (EROs) decide on the inclusion or exclusion of an elector “on the basis of facts and records. “The ERO of the concerned constituency is the statutory authority responsible for the preparation and revision of electoral roll of that constituency,” the poll panel said. Regarding the queries covering automatic flagging, the use of AI or ML, and safeguards against wrongful flagging, the commission said the information sought was a “clarification” that does not fall within the definition of “information” under Section 2(f) of the Act. Responding to disclosures in the RTI, former CEC OP Rawat said that the activist must file an appeal. “This is a legal matter and the applicant must file an appeal to the competent authorities to seek answers to questions ECI is evading,” Rawat said.
HT this February reported that some of the problems in the West Bengal SIR have their roots in ECI’s Electoral Registration Officer Network (ERONET) portal, senior officials from the IT division of the poll body said. It also alleged that election officials found their access to the ECI software curtailed by the central IT team. ECI has been under pressure over SIR – which has already deleted 130 million names from India’s electoral rolls – and other allegations. These concerns follow an investigation by The Indian Express that said election commissioners SS Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded written dissents and objections at least 14 times between November 2025 and August 2026 and even wrote to the cabinet secretary.
ECI, for its part, said differing views and observations were a normal part of deliberation and that all its digital platforms operated under strict data security protocols.
