NEW DELHI, September 20, 2026: Economist and Padma awardee Bibek Debroy, who died in November 2024, has been listed in Delhi's draft electoral roll prepared under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and flagged for verification, according to records released by the Delhi election authorities.
Debroy, who was 69 when he died, appears in the draft roll as a 70-year-old elector in polling part 73 of the Delhi Cantonment Assembly constituency. His name also appears on the list of electors whose records have been flagged for either a “logical discrepancy” or lack of mapping with the previous SIR electoral roll.
The Delhi Chief Electoral Officer's office has published a list of people issued notices as part of the verification process. The official New Delhi district website lists both the draft electoral roll and the notice list under the 2026 SIR exercise.
Over 33 lakh voters flagged for verification
According to election officials, around 33.13 lakh voters appearing in the draft electoral roll have been identified for notices because of discrepancies in their enumeration details. A large proportion of these cases involve voters whose details could not be linked to the electoral roll from the previous SIR conducted in 2002.
The cases include discrepancies relating to names, ages and other details, as well as records that could not be mapped to the earlier electoral database.
The exercise does not automatically mean that a person has been declared ineligible to vote. The Delhi Chief Electoral Officer has clarified that non-inclusion or discrepancies in the draft roll do not by themselves constitute a final determination of ineligibility. Each case is to be examined through the prescribed verification process, including field verification and supporting documents.
Claims and objections process underway
The draft Delhi electoral roll was published on August 31, 2026, following a house-to-house enumeration exercise conducted from June 30 to August 17.
Voters whose names are missing or whose records require correction can submit claims and objections during the prescribed period. The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on November 4, 2026.
The Election Commission's electoral-roll revision procedure provides for claims, objections and correction of discrepancies between publication of the draft and final rolls.
The case involving Debroy has drawn attention because his death in 2024 predates the current SIR exercise, raising questions about how his name remained in the electoral database and subsequently appeared in the draft roll. The matter is now part of the verification process being undertaken by Delhi election authorities.
