SIR Verdict: The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the legality of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. However, the court made it clear that removing a person’s name from the voter list does not mean they lose Indian citizenship. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said the SIR process is only related to elections and not to deciding citizenship. The ruling is important because petitioners and opposition parties had claimed that the Election Commission’s SIR exercise was an indirect way of checking citizenship.
What the Supreme Court Said
The Supreme Court said the Election Commission of India (ECI) can examine citizenship issues only for the limited purpose of deciding whether a person’s name should stay on the electoral roll. “The commission can delete, but that doesn't mean he or she is no more the citizen of India. It doesn't have anything to do with the determination of citizenship,” the Supreme Court said. The court’s observation means that if a person’s name is removed from the voter list during the SIR process, that person does not automatically lose citizenship. ALSO READ: Big win for Election Commission: SC upholds SIR exercise, says ‘it breathes life into…’
Challenge to the SIR Exercise
The verdict came while hearing several petitions challenging the legality of the SIR process. Under the exercise, voters whose names were not included in the 2002/2003 electoral rolls had to prove ancestral links to someone whose name appeared in those lists. The controversy started after the Election Commission launched the SIR exercise in Bihar in June last year. It was later extended to states including West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. At present, the third and final phase of the exercise is underway in 16 states and three Union Territories. The ECI argued that the exercise was needed to clean up voter lists and verify citizenship claims. However, petitioners said citizenship checks were outside the powers of the Election Commission.
Names deleted to be referred to Centre
The Supreme Court also directed the Election Commission to send the names of people removed from electoral rolls over doubtful citizenship to the Union Home Ministry. “The ECI is directed to refer such cases within four weeks to the competent authority under the Citizenship Act, 1955, for the determination of their citizenship claims,” the CJI said. The court said the verification process must be completed before the next assembly or local body elections, whichever comes first. It also directed that affected individuals must be given notice and a chance to be heard.
Names Must Be Restored if Citizenship Is Confirmed
SC further said that if the competent authority later finds that the “deleted individuals” are Indian citizens, their names must be added back to the electoral rolls.
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