The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday decided to set up a committee to review its ECINET system and double-check whether the portal complies with the provisions of the relevant Acts and Rules.

The committee will be headed by a Senior Deputy Election Commissioner (DEC) and will include an independent expert from an IIT or IIIT. It will submit its report to the Commission.

The decision was taken at a Commission meeting held on Saturday.

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The ECI said field officers currently have role-based access to ECINET according to their statutory powers. It added that several upgrades to the portal have already been made based on inputs received from State Chief Electoral Officers over the past few months.

The Commission said any further flexibility required by field officers would be made operational. It also decided that all new initiatives relating to IT modules and portals will henceforth be discussed in the Committee of Officers before being placed before the Commission for approval.

The move comes in the backdrop of an investigation which revealed that the two Election Commissioners — Dr S S Sandhu and Dr Vivek Joshi — had raised objections to the SIR process at least 14 times in 10 months.

BLOs to visit homes of voters issued SIR notices

In another decision concerning the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the ECI said Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will visit the homes of people who have been issued notices for being unmapped or having logical discrepancies.

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The BLOs will collect the required documents and upload them on ECINET for a decision by the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO). Such persons will not ordinarily be required to appear for hearings at ERO or Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) offices.

Hearings will be held only in exceptional circumstances, as decided by the ERO, and preferably online. An elector may also authorise any adult family member to attend a hearing on their behalf, if required.

The Commission also directed District Election Officers to create adequate help desks and organise special camps for people living in night shelters, labourers, poor people, homeless persons and others, as required.

SIR deadlines extended in Delhi, Maharashtra

Following a request from the Delhi CEO, the deadline for filing claims and objections has been extended till October 30, 2026, while their disposal has been extended till November 30.

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In Maharashtra, the deadline for filing claims and objections has been extended till October 12, with disposal extended till November 10.

The ECI said SIR has already been completed in 20 States/UTs, including Bihar and West Bengal. People whose names were left out during or after SIR, including young and first-time voters, can apply to the concerned ERO for inclusion through continuous updation.

The Commission also said the CEO of Goa has directed BLOs to conduct house-to-house visits to left-out voters. Eighty-one of 97 voters have already filled Form 6 for inclusion.

The press note said the decisions taken at the September 26 meeting had the approval of the full Commission.