The Election Commission is accelerating its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) campaign to make the voter list more transparent, up-to-date, and error-free across the country. After implementing this process in several states, including Bihar, the campaign is now set to begin in the national capital, Delhi, next month. The Election Commission states that its objective is to make the voter list more accurate, identify dead, transferred, or fake voters, and ensure the inclusion of eligible citizens. For some time now, questions have been raised about the accuracy of the voter list. Many political parties complained about duplicate names, dead voters, and voters with incorrect addresses during the elections. In light of this, the Election Commission has prioritized the Special Intensive Revision campaign.
The Commission believes that accurate and up-to-date voter lists are crucial for free and fair elections. The SIR process is set to begin in the capital, Delhi, on June 30th. The Election Commission has accelerated preparations for this. Booth-level officers will be trained and will go door-to-door to verify voters. Political parties will also be involved in this process to ensure transparency and avoid any disputes. This campaign could prove to be extremely important in view of the upcoming elections. In a large and rapidly changing city like Delhi, there is constant movement of people, making it challenging to keep the voter list up-to-date.
In such a situation, identification of genuine voters through SIR and purification of the list will strengthen the electoral process. Delhi’s Chief Electoral Officer Ashok Kumar gave detailed information about this in a press conference on Wednesday. He said that under this campaign, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will go door to door to verify the voters. Its objective is to ensure that only the names of eligible and genuine voters are registered in the voter list. He said that internal preparations will be completed from June 20 to June 29. During this, training of BLOs, printing of counting forms and other administrative arrangements will be made. The Chief Electoral Officer said that there will be a clear system of checking at every stage of the verification process.
Political parties will also be involved in this process through booth-level agents (BLAs) to maintain transparency. He said that all information will be made public through the website of the Chief Electoral Officer’s office. Ashok Kumar said that awareness campaigns will also be launched to ensure that voters do not face any problems. Special camps will be set up in different areas where voters can get assistance in filling out counting forms and submitting documents.
Supreme Court’s major decision on SIR dispute, upholds Election Commission’s process
The Supreme Court has issued a significant ruling on petitions challenging the ongoing SIR process in Bihar. The Supreme Court bench upheld the Election Commission’s process, stating that the Special Intensive Revision is in accordance with the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act. Hearing the case, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi stated that free and fair elections are the foundation of democracy, and that accurate voter lists are essential. The petitions questioned whether the Election Commission has the authority to conduct the SIR in its current form under Article 326 of the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act, 1950. The court stated that the Election Commission has the constitutional authority to revise the voter list, and that merely questioning the process cannot invalidate the entire process.
During the hearing, it was also argued that the Election Commission was attempting to determine citizenship through the SIR process. The court clarified that the Election Commission does not determine citizenship. It only ensures the accuracy of the voter list. If a person’s documents are found to be questionable, their case can be referred to the competent authority. The bench stated that it would be incorrect to assume that the purpose of SIR is to exclude people from the voter list. The court stated that even if a person has moved from their previous place of residence, their records will still be present in the old documents and they cannot be considered completely excluded.
The Supreme Court also stated that the Election Commission has full authority to set rules and procedures for such a large and detailed task. The court directed the Commission to submit information regarding the cases of those whose citizenship is in doubt to the competent authority within four weeks so that a decision can be made before the next election. Several organizations and opposition leaders, including the Association for Democratic Reforms and the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, had filed petitions in this matter.
The petitioners included Manoj Jha, Mahua Moitra, K.C. Venugopal, Pappu Yadav, and Sudhakar Singh. Following the Supreme Court’s decision, it is now clear that the Election Commission can proceed with a special intensive revision of voter lists across the country. Consequently, this process is likely to accelerate in the coming days in other states, including Delhi.
