More than four months after the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls undertaken by the Election Commission, ‘The Lawyers Associations For Constitution’ has formed an inquiry commission comprising former judges to inquire into the validity and impact of the SIR exercise.Headed by former Supreme Court judge Madan B Lokur, the ‘independent inquiry commission’ will have former Supreme Court judge AK Patnaik, former Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice BD Ahmad, former Delhi High Court judge Rekha Sharma and former Patna High Court judge Anjana Prakash as members, the Association said.Senior lawyers Kapil Sibal, Prashant Bhushan, CU Singh, PC Sen, Raju Ramachandran, Rebecca M John, Warisha Farasat and Vrinda Grover will assist the commission, it said.The commission will hold public hearings with a target to release its report by December 2026.The Supreme Court had on May 27 upheld the constitutional validity of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls undertaken by the Election Commission, saying it advanced the constitutional imperative of free and fair elections.“The impugned SIR exercise, as conducted, satisfies the requirements of proportionality. The measures adopted bear a rational nexus to the objective sought to be achieved, are not manifestly excessive, and are accompanied by sufficient procedural safeguards to prevent arbitrary exclusion,” a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said.The Bench—which also included Justice Joymalya Bagchi – said the SIR exercise was founded upon a legitimate and constitutionally grounded purpose, namely, restoration of accuracy, completeness, and integrity of the electoral rolls.“We hold that the impugned SIR neither stands in direct conflict with the RP (Representation of People) Act and the 1960 Rules, nor does it detract from the constitutional imperative of free and fair elections. It is, instead, an exercise traceable to Section 21(3) of the RP Act read with Article 324 (plenary powers of EC) of the Constitution, undertaken to advance the very objective which Part XV of the Constitution is designed to protect,” the Bench said.The top court ruled that in its object and design, the impugned SIR had a direct nexus with the constitutional goal of ensuring free and fair elections which did not rest merely on the mechanics of polling but equally depended on the “integrity, accuracy, and credibility of the electoral rolls” which formed the foundation of the democratic process.It categorically ruled that the Election Commission had the powers to conduct the SIR under Article 324 of the Constitution read with Representation of the People Act and the Rules framed thereunder.