New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has declined to disclose the name and version of the software used to identify errors and anomalies in voter rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), stating in a Right to Information (RTI) reply that the information relates to commercial confidence, trade secrets and intellectual property and is exempt under the RTI Act, a leading national daily reported, as cited by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh.

Source: Times of India via Scoop

Ramesh, the Congress general secretary in charge of communications, alleged on X that the ECI continues to 'hide' information about the ECINET software, which he described as being at the heart of the SIR, and alleged it has been used to centralise manipulation of the electoral rolls. Those are the Congress party's allegations; the ECI has not accepted them.

Source: Times of India via Scoop

Mirror Now reported that the commission invoked RTI provisions on commercial confidence and intellectual property to deny requests for the name and version of the software used to identify anomalies in voter rolls, and that Congress argues the refusal has damaged public trust in the process.

Source: Mirror Now

According to the reports, the ECI also stated that no new software was developed or purchased specifically for the SIR, and that Electoral Registration Officers take the final decisions on inclusion or exclusion of voters based on facts and records. Questions on whether artificial intelligence or machine learning was used, and on safeguards against wrongful flagging, were not answered clearly in the reply, the reports said.

Source: Whalesbook

Section 8(1)(d)RTI Act provision cited by the ECI — commercial confidence, trade secrets and intellectual property — in refusing the software details
0New software developed or purchased specifically for the SIR, according to the ECI's stated position in the reports

Ramesh also asked why the public learnt from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) disclosures that TCS developed the ECINET software, and repeated the Congress demands that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar must go and the SIR be suspended forthwith — demands the ECI and the government have not accepted.

Source: Times of India via Scoop

Sources: Times of India report via Scoop, October 25, 2026; Mirror Now, October 25, 2026; Whalesbook, October 25, 2026. Congress's manipulation claims are reported as allegations.

Source: Times of India via Scoop