"Stand to stay the same despite SC's directive:" TMC MP Saugata Roy on SC upholding Bihar SIR

Speaking to ANI, Roy alleged the misuse of the SIR, maintaining that the party's stance on the exercise remains unchanged despite the Supreme Court's ruling.

"Whatever the apex court says is the law. We didn't say that SIR was illegitimate; we said it was misused. SIR was not conducted properly in Bengal, as a result of which, 27 lakh names were deleted. So our stand will stay the same despite SC's directive," said Roy.

Roy's remarks came 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, stressing 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.

Following the judgement, many BJP leaders supported the Supreme Court's judgement. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal hit out at the opposition parties for questioning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive and said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) will continue with the revision exercise in future.

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.

However, many opposition leaders expressed disappointment with the Supreme Court judgement. RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha stated that the opposition was questioning the "exclusion instead of inclusion" process.

Speaking to ANI, Jha rejected claims that opposition parties had challenged the Election Commission's authority, clarifying that their objections were limited to the process of SIR. He said the opposition had high expectations from the apex court and would wait for the detailed judgment.

"What can I say? We had hopes with the Supreme Court. What were we concerned about? We were questioning the 'exclusion, instead of inclusion' process. We did not challenge the rights of the Election Commission. We will see the detailed judgment. There is nothing more to say," he said. (ANI)