Supreme Court Weighs in on Electoral Roll Revision in 4 States Amid Concerns of Voter Disenfranchisement

Image Source: Internet

The Supreme Court has emphasized the importance of removing dead voters from electoral rolls to prevent any undue advantage to political parties. The court is currently hearing petitions challenging the special intensive revision (SIR) process in multiple states, including Bihar, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Kerala. In Bihar, the court noted that despite initial concerns of mass disenfranchisement, only 366,000 voters were deleted after the SIR exercise, with many of those who were removed not appealing against their deletion. The bench, comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, pointed out that political parties and leaders are often aware of dead voters and those who have migrated, and that the SIR process is necessary to prevent them from influencing elections. However, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared for some of the petitioners, argued that the SIR process must not be exclusionary and must follow a fair and reasonable process. He pointed out that the officer analyzing the enumeration forms is deciding whether a citizen is an Indian or foreigner, which can only be determined by a quasi-judicial tribunal. The court has directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to file its response to all petitions by Monday, and has posted the cases pertaining to Kerala on December 2, with similar pleas against SIR in the other two states of TN and WB to be taken up on December 4 and 9 respectively. The ECI has sought time to file responses to the other petitions challenging SIR, while the Kerala government has filed a petition seeking a limited relief to postpone the SIR due to the local body elections in the state on December 9 and 11. The court has also been hearing other petitions filed by political parties, including the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the Indian Union Muslim League, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist). In Kerala, the court has been told that about 176,000 personnel are required for the local body election, apart from 68,000 security personnel, and that an "administrative impasse" could occur if the SIR process is not completed on time. The court has directed the Kerala State Election Commission (KSEC) and the West Bengal government to respond to the pleas relating to the respective states.