‘Represented India in 3 nations’: Ex envoy Navdeep Suri shares ordeal as Punjab SIR details ‘do not match’

Former Indian diplomat Navdeep Suri with over three decades of service is now facing an unlikely challenge back home. He has been informed that his details for 2003 do not match after he submitted his documents for electoral roll revision in Punjab.

“Sharing my experience with #SIR in Punjab. Went to BLO, submitted Voter ID and Aadhaar card, was assured that everything is in order. Got a message today from a volunteer saying some details don’t match with SIR in 2003!” Suri, who has served in Egypt, UAE and Australia, wrote in a series of posts on X.

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Suri, the former Indian envoy with service spanning between 1983 to 2019, said that after he was told that his documents do not match, he was asked to come again with documents that show he is an Indian citizen. This was after he had already submitted his voter ID card and Aadhaar card.

Detailing his ordeal on X, Suri said that since he was not in India in 2003, he was asked to submit his passport as proof.

He highlighted that he had to face the hassle despite representing India in three countries and said, “If I have trouble establishing my citizenship after representing India in three countries, what’s the fate of the common citizen?”

The Election Commission of India, the state government or the Centre has not yet issued any official statements on this matter.

Earlier, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Somnath Bharti said he could not find his name in the 2002 electoral roll despite having graduated from IIT Delhi in 1997 and later studying law in the capital. Bharti also expressed concern over reports suggesting that 2-3 million names could be deleted during the revision process.

SIR in Punjab

The Draft Electoral Roll, 2026, for all 117 assembly constituencies in Punjab was published on last week under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2026, in accordance with the programme announced by the Election Commission of India, chief electoral officer Anindita Mitra said.

The publication marks the beginning of the second phase of the exercise, during which claims and objections can be filed from August 13 to September 12, 2026, followed by the notice phase and disposal of claims and objections till October 8, 2026. The final electoral rolls will be published on October 12.

Earlier, as part of the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in Punjab, enumeration forms of nearly 1.94 crore electors, out of the total electorate of 2.14 crore, were collected and digitised during the enumeration exercise.

The remaining over 20 lakh electors, accounting for 9.63 percent of total electors, had been categorised as absent, shifted, dead, or duplicate (ASDD), officials said on Tuesday.

The house-to-house enumeration phase of SIR exercise, aimed at updating and sanitising the electoral rolls in the state, was carried out between June 25 till August 3.