Bulldozer demolition drive: Supreme Court asks district election officer to address issue of people lacking ‘identifiable abode’

The Supreme Court of India on Monday (February 23, 2026) said persons whose homes have been demolished by local authorities can approach the district election officer regarding their inclusion in the electoral roll during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant was hearing a petition filed by Sana Parveen on the plight of residents of Akbar Nagar in Lucknow whose buildings, both residential and commercial, were razed after eviction notices in September 2023.

Akbar Nagar is located on the banks of the Kukrail nulla in Lucknow. The National Green Tribunal had found the settlement was found “illegal”. The eviction was part of the Lucknow district administration drive to beautify the area.

The petitioner argued that the residents were excluded from the electoral roll in the Uttar Pradesh SIR process owing to lack of an “identifiable” after the demolition.

Ms. Parveen, through her counsel, argued that many of the residents were part of the Special SIR conducted in 2002-2003 and a summary revision of the electoral roll held in 2025. The petitioner said the Election Commission must distribute enumeration forms to the residents for submission.

The Bench initially asked the petitioner to approach the Allahabad High Court, saying the plea did exactly raise an “all India social issue”. The issue was local and could be dealt with by the High Court concerned.

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Subsequently, the Bench observed that the petition raised “seriously disputed questions and facts” though the petitioner counsel tried to clarify that their representations to the Election Commission, leave alone dispute their pleas for participation in SIR, did not even respond.

The top court ordered the District Election Officer, Lucknow to examine the issue and gave liberty to approach the High Court in case the election authority’s intervention proved to be ineffective.