New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the constitutional validity of the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral
rolls, saying the exercise supports the goal of conducting free and fair elections.
The petitioners had questioned whether the Election Commission had the authority to conduct such an exercise and whether the process violated provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
Court backs Election Commission’s authority
While pronouncing the judgment, the bench said it had narrowed the dispute around the SIR notification into four major questions. These included whether the Election Commission of India (ECI) had the power to carry out the revision exercise, whether the process was legally justified and proportionate, whether it violated the Representation of the People Act and whether the poll body could examine citizenship issues while preparing electoral rolls.
The court ruled in favour of the Election Commission on all major points and said the exercise was legally sustainable.
This is a developing story…
