Senior advocate Kapil Sibal asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday if the Election Commission (EC) has any evidence showing a nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is needed, despite yearly updates. The petitioners include Opposition parties from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Sibal spoke after the EC completed its long arguments in favor of the SIR. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, said many ordinary and marginalized people depend on the electoral roll to exercise their civil rights. He warned, “If you cannot show one of the two documents, you have to live in dread of being thrown out as a foreigner… God knows when that axe would fall.” Sibal asked the EC to provide data from a detailed study proving why SIR is necessary now. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant noted the EC only wants documents if voters cannot link their names to those in the 2002 rolls. Sibal questioned how many people actually have parents’ or their own birth certificates. He highlighted that citizenship of 1.82 crore people has been questioned and asked, “How many illegal immigrants were found in Bihar after the exercise?” He also asked for transparency on how many people have been added to the electoral roll and why a nationwide revision is needed rather than a part or constituency. Justice Joymalya Bagchi mentioned deaths and migration since the last revision, but pointed out these changes are already updated yearly. Sibal insisted, “Despite the 2025 electoral roll updates, the EC must show data proving the need for this SIR now, during elections.” He added the citizenship verification must align with the Citizenship Act, saying, “The exercise of executive or administrative powers must be backed by reasons germane to that power.”