SC Upholds EC’s Power To Conduct SIR, Says Exercise Necessary For Free And Fair Polls

New Delhi, May 27: The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the Election Commission of India’s power to conduct the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, observing that the exercise advances the constitutional mandate of ensuring free and fair elections.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant said it could not be concluded that the poll panel had acted beyond its statutory powers while undertaking the SIR exercise.

“We are unable to conclude that the impugned exercise is a process resorted to solely for administrative convenience. On the contrary, we hold that the electoral SIR advances the constitutional imperative of free and fair elections,” the bench observed while dismissing pleas challenging the exercise.

The petitions had argued that the Election Commission lacked authority under Article 326 of the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and related rules to carry out a large-scale SIR exercise.

The top court had reserved its verdict on January 29 on a batch of petitions, including one filed by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

The SIR exercise in Bihar was carried out in the first phase. During final hearings that commenced on August 12 last year, the apex court had observed that inclusion or exclusion of names from electoral rolls falls within the constitutional domain of the Election Commission.

As part of the SIR process, the Election Commission had published draft electoral rolls and announced that nearly 65 lakh names had been removed.

According to the SIR notification, voters whose names did not appear in the 2002 or 2003 electoral rolls were required to establish ancestral linkage with a person whose name figured in those rolls.

Defending the exercise, the Election Commission maintained that Aadhaar cards and voter identity cards could not be treated as conclusive proof of citizenship.

The petitioners, however, contended that the electoral roll revision resembled an “NRC-like process” in which the Election Commission was effectively verifying citizenship, a power they argued rests exclusively with the Central government. (Agencies)