The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday, May 27, upheld the power of the Election Commission of India to conduct Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The Apex Court delivered the verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant had on January 29 reserved its verdict on the pleas, including the one filed by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

The Supreme Court said that the process is "consistent with the constitutional mandate for free and fair elections." The court observed that the exercise cannot be termed ultra vires, adding that the ECI has not acted outside its statutory powers and that SIR is distinct from routine revisions.

"SIR fulfils proportionality and are not manifestely execessive. It was founded by constitutional purpose of restoration of accuracy of electoral rolls. The measures adopted by the ECI can't be held to be disproportionate," it said.

The top court had commenced final arguments in the matter on August 12 last year. It had observed that the inclusion or exclusion of names in the electoral rolls falls within the constitutional remit of the Election Commission.

The pleas claimed that the Election Commission does not have the powers under Article 326 of the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Rules made under it to carry out SIR on such a larger form.

The timeline of the SIR in Bihar was also been questioned by Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who was appearing for ADR. He had questioned the timeline for the completion of the exercise and the data of 65 lakh voters who were declared dead or migrated or registered in other constituencies.

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar was conducted in the first phase of the exercise. The poll authority had come out with the names of 65 lakh people who were removed from the draft electoral rolls published as part of the SIR exercise.

According to the SIR notification, voters who were not present in the 2002 or 2003 rolls had to show ancestral linkage with someone present in the rolls then.

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Apoorva Shukla is a journalist at Times Now, where she thrives on dissecting political developments both at home and abroad. A graduate of Delhi Univ...View More

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