The historic verdict of the Supreme Court of India has finally reinforced the constitutional position and the role of the ECI, and also of the government
FRAGRANCE OF IDEAS
ASHWANI KUMAR CHRUNGOO
On 27th May 2026, the three-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India, headed by the Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant, finally announced its judgement in respect of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, conducted by the Election Commission of India.
In its historic judgement, the apex court said that ‘the SIR was found on legitimate grounds and is in consonance with the Representation of the Peoples’ Act and the 1960 Rules’. ‘The Election Commission’s decision to conduct the SIR remains within the statutory mandate’, the Supreme Court further added. It is a great relief for the whole nation as this judgement is both welcome and historic.
The issue was pending in the highest court for the last around one year. It was made an issue by the opposition parties and their echo system when the Bihar elections were around the corner last year. The Election Commission of India (ECI), headed by the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, took an important decision in the second half of the year 2025, consequent upon a long discussion and debate within and outside the Commission, to conduct the SIR in the state of Bihar. The Commission made an announcement to this effect on 27 October, 2025 to go for a nationwide SIR, state by state, Bihar being the first state to undergo the process.
A number of petitions were filed by a number of persons supported by various political parties and also the West Bengal government, with the plea that the ECI had no powers to conduct the SIR. This process of SIR was also conducted earlier, during the governments of Congress and the NDA. The last SIR was conducted by the ECI during the government of NDA headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the year 2003.
During those processes at different intervals, there was no fuss created by the political parties and others in this connection. However, this time, the opposition and their echo-system went politically berserk and tried to create obstacles to stop it. Petitioning the apex court was also a part of the same exercise.
When SIR was initiated in the state of Bihar, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, campaigned against it throughout the state and even went to the extent to call it ‘Vote-Chori’. He, along with his other colleagues, tried to bring the whole process under the scanner and also tried to bring the results of the polls after conducting SIR under the radar of suspicion.
This was indeed a vicious game-plan to jeopardise the whole process of SIR. Besides attacking the SIR, the opposition also raised issues with regard to the procedure of the SIR. In addition to Bihar, other states’ political leaders also jumped into it and in regard to West Bengal, the SIR was specifically opposed to shielding the illegal infiltrators in the state who were part of the opposition’s vote-bank all along.
The Supreme Court of India held the SIR as constitutionally valid and correct, and even upheld the procedure of the process. It categorically said that ‘the SIR has strengthened democracy’ and in case there was any sort of grievance against it at any level, there are various forums where these can be addressed and found ways to mitigate the issues involved. This is indeed a severe setback to all those who kept on raising the issue publicly and privately to snub the constitutionally mandated Special Intensive Revision of the general electoral rolls in the country.
The opposition and their echo-system attacked the Election Commission of India lock, stock and barrel and even personally attacked the Chief Election Commissioner on the issue. The ECI and its head didn’t lose either the temper or the patience and continued with their work, and gained the confidence of the Supreme Court of India by its statements, work and constitutional arguments in the court.
In Bihar, the election campaigning was influenced by the debate on SIR. The people in general in Bihar cooperated with the ECI and participated in the process generously. Congress and its leaders maintained their opposition to it throughout, but the main opposition party in Bihar -the RJD and its leaders didn’t give a great heed to this agenda in their campaigning.
The main opposition was centred around in regard to the powers of the ECI to ascertain the citizenship of the voters. It was said that the ECI had no powers to determine the citizenship of the voters, and it was the prerogative only of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). While it is a fact that the determination of citizenship in India falls under the domain of the MHA, the ECI, however, can ask the voters for the documents certifying their Indian citizenship.
As per the law and the existing rules, a person has two qualifications to become a voter in India, i.e. he or she should have attained the age of 18 years, and he or she should be a bonafide citizen of India. In order to satisfy the ECI officials in this regard, one needs to produce the Date of Birth certificate to prove one’s claim to become a voter.
Secondly, the ECI has made a list of documents which can be produced and provided to it to prove one’s citizenship of India. Earlier, the political parties, the government officials and some ECI deputed employees would overlook this important aspect at the time of making voters. Consequently, a large number of non-genuine voters found a way to be on the voters’ lists.
Moreover, voters needed to be deleted from the existing voters list due to their death, migration to other areas, enrolment at more than one place in the lists and having wrong names, parentage and address entered at the time of enrolment. In order to nullify these various discrepancies in the lists, SIR became obligatory.
The governments and the political parties, it was found that these voters had become vote-banks for them, and thus misuse of their names became epidemic during the elections for various bodies like Parliament, Assembly, Urban bodies and the Panchayats. Illegal infiltrators from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan and other nations in India became a serious threat to the national security, particularly when they would become voters as well.
The Supreme Court of India has upheld the right of the ECI to ask the voters to give proper documents certifying one’s citizenship. Though it is not the business of the ECI to grant citizenship, procuring the appropriate documents is its mandatory obligation.
The court further directed the ECI to forward the list of voters, whose claims were found doubtful and with discrepancies, to the Home Ministry within four months to get their opinion about each and every such voter. It has also been said that the Home ministry should get it done within a reasonable time, i.e. well before the declaration of the next election due for the assembly, urban bodies or the Panchayat in the respective states.
The opposition leaders, irritated by the ECI and the Apex court developments earlier, issued threats to the government officials and also the ECI Commissioners. Rahul Gandhi issued a direct warning to the Chief Election Commissioner, and he even went to the extent to tell him that he (CEC) should wait for his retirement for the consequences. He should have been booked by the authorities for his threats, but nothing of the sort happened so far, unfortunately. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha could have also called for his explanation, as he was a member of the House. The opposition leaders went to the extent to call the SIR as the ‘BJP style SIR’.
There was an uproar in West Bengal unleashed by the TMC workers and its supporters against the ECI-appointed observers and the other staff. The judicial officers who were appointed by the Calcutta High Court under the directions of the apex court to monitor the process of redressal of grievances of the deleted voters fell victims of ‘gherao’ and protests against them by the TMC and its goons.
The Supreme Court had to intervene when the government of West Bengal was found extremely wanting in the prevailing situation to take action in the matter. The new government in West Bengal is expected to take appropriate action in this direction and take it to a logical conclusion.
The apex court has expressed appreciation of the ECI for its work and conduct in relation to the SIR. The comment that they have strengthened democracy by the court is a great recognition of the ECI. The court didn’t comment upon the statements of the political parties and their henchmen who abused the ECI, CEC and the government in this connection. It didn’t find them worth making any observation or comment.
There was a simmering discontent among the people of the nation about a few judgments, comments, observations and overtures of the Supreme Court of India in some other cases. But this time, the Apex Court has come out with a judgment, surely, for the generations to come.
The government of India, all along in its approach, stood firm in regard to the SIR, followed by the people’s verdict in favour of the process through the mandate of a number of elections conducted after the SIR process in the respective states. The historic verdict of the Supreme Court of India has finally reinforced the constitutional position and the role of the ECI and also of the government. The Supreme Court of India’s verdict is, in real terms, this time, Supreme…!
(The author is a senior BJP and KP leader, Human Rights Defender & columnist and can be reached at: ashwanikc2012@gmail.com)