"EC rightly carried out SIR, will continue in future": Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Supreme Court upholding Bihar SIR

Speaking with ANI here, the Union Law Minister said that the opposition approached the Supreme Court while trying to highlight issues with the SIR process. However, he added that the apex court "clarified all issues" while asserting that the EC "rightly carried out the SIR process".

"The opposition raised the issue of SIR and even approached the Supreme Court, which heard the matter. Meanwhile, discussions took place in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, with the government responding in the context of election reforms. Though challenged on various grounds, the Supreme Court clarified all issues. Since the voter list ultimately decides who wins and loses, the Election Commission rightly carried out the SIR process, and it will continue in future," Meghwal said.

Earlier, Advocate and TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee said that the Supreme Court, while upholding the SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar, gave directions in the "procedural safeguards".

Speaking with the media, the advocate said that the apex court noted that the Election Commission of India cannot decide the citizenship of a person, adding that the ECI should refer to the appropriate authority regarding the deletion of names on the grounds of citizenship. He further said that the SC directed the ECI to include the names of people who are deemed citizens by the competent authority under the Citizenship Act.

"The justice which has been delivered in the SIR matter is applicable in case of Bihar. That is not all-India. In this judgment, safeguard which has been provided by the EC, it was sufficient and it has been held. But one interesting thing has been said that if EC has no authority to decide who is a citizen and who is not and if the EC has deleted any name on the ground of citizenship, then they should refer the matter to the appropriate authority under the Citizenship Act. That authority will decide whether the persons are citizens or non-citizens. If yes, then their names should be included. We had been saying for long, that the Centre/Police has no power to decide this," he said.

This comes after the Supreme Court upheld the Election Commission of India's (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which was first undertaken in Bihar, holding that the exercise is constitutional, legally tenable and cannot be struck down merely because it differs from the ordinary process of voter-roll revision.

A bench of Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi held that the SIR exercise cannot be declared 'ultra vires' solely on the ground that it adopts a process distinct from the routine revision of electoral rolls contemplated under the statutory framework.

The Court further clarified that the ECI's powers in the process remain limited to determining eligibility for inclusion in electoral rolls and do not extend to ascertaining citizenship status. It held that the deletion of a person's name from the voter list does not divest that individual of citizenship, since citizenship can only be determined by the competent authority under law. (ANI)