The Supreme Court has given a big order to the Election Commission regarding Special Intensive Amendment (SIR) in Kerala. The Supreme Court on Thursday said that the names of people removed from the voter list draft released after special intensive revision in the state should be uploaded on government offices and official websites. The court has also asked the Election Commission to consider extending the deadline for filing objections against the removal of names.
The Supreme Court heard petitions challenging SIR in many states of the country. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing on behalf of the Election Commission before the bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, said that the elections will be held on the basis of adult franchise. The concept of adult franchise has 3 different parts. Unless these 3 conditions are fulfilled at the time of registration, no one will be entitled to be registered as a voter.
He said that now the Parliament has made it even more clear through Section 16 of the Representation of the People Act. On this, Advocate Prashant Bhushan said that there is no dispute that to become a voter it is necessary to be a citizen. The question is whether ECI can decide citizenship? CJI said that he is saying that he is only identifying the citizens.
On this, Dwivedi said that the Election Commission can decide citizenship only to the extent of being registered as a voter. For the limited purpose of registering a person as a voter. We can't deport you or decide whether you have a visa to stay here. We have nothing to do with all these things.
On this the CJI said, if a person is clearly not a citizen and before the elections he applies to you, I want to become a citizen to vote, then you will not be an authority. Therefore you will not decide citizenship. You will check to find out whether he is a citizen or not. If a person says he is a citizen then you have the right to check whether he is a real citizen or not. This is what you are trying to say.
To this Dwivedi replied, we are saying that if your parents are before 2003 then we accept. All those born in 1985-86 who were eligible to vote in 2003 are in SIR. We are talking about those people who are turning 18 in 2005. On this, Justice Bagchi said, we are trying to tell that when you are saying that a person is not in the voter list of 2003. You are destroying the voter list after 2003. The petitioner's argument is that if my name is in the voter list then it will be considered that I am a citizen.
