The Election Commission of India (ECI) defended its ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, telling the Supreme Court that Aadhaar, voter identity or ration cards cannot be accepted as proof of voter eligibility and asserting its constitutional authority to demand evidence of citizenship.
In its affidavit, the poll body made a detailed explanation on why Aadhaar, ration cards, and existing Elector Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) have not been included as standalone documents for establishing voter eligibility.
On July 10, the Supreme Court agreed to examine the validity of SIR and urged that the draft rolls should not be finalised pending further orders. The court had also asked ECI to consider Aadhaar cards, voter IDs and ration cards, as acceptable proof of eligibility for inclusion in electoral rolls.
In a detailed affidavit submitted on Monday evening, the poll body argued that its powers under Article 324 of the Constitution provide it with plenary authority to supervise and direct all aspects of elections, including the preparation of electoral rolls.
The poll body appeared to reject the top court’s suggestion, but underlined that the list of 11 documents, which are being currently accepted, is “illustrative and not exhaustive.”
In no uncertain terms, the commission clarified that failure to prove citizenship for voter registration did not amount to termination of one’s citizenship. “Determination of non-eligibility under Article 326 will not lead to cancellation of citizenship,” it stated, while stressing that the SIR is an inclusionary exercise aimed at ensuring purity of electoral rolls.
In its affidavit, ECI rejected these claims, calling the petitions “premature,” “unsustainable,” and based on “news reports without material evidence.” It also claimed widespread political support for the exercise. “All political parties had appreciated the necessity and correctness of the exercise… and have been co-operating,” it noted.
The commission reported that as of July 18, enumeration forms had been collected from over 7.11 crore electors, amounting to 90.12% of the total 79 million electors in Bihar. When accounting for deceased, permanently shifted voters, and multiple enrolments, the form collection phase had effectively covered 94.68% of the electorate, it maintained.
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