SIR is wrong on two counts. It’s neither complete nor sound |
It is undeniable that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) pursues a legitimate aim for both the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the state. Where doubts exist about the integrity of electoral rolls — as opposition parties themselves have alleged — it would be imprudent to conduct elections without addressing those deficiencies. The ECI certainly acts within its constitutional mandate when it insists on corrections to the rolls under Article 326 of the Constitution and sections 16-19 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which make citizenship a condition of enrolment. However, an electoral registration officer is not constitutionally empowered to adjudicate citizenship. This raises a deeper concern: Whether the determination of citizenship and voter eligibility can, in practice, be made reliably, fairly, and in conformity with constitutional principles.
Indian citizenship is a legal status initially defined by the Constitution and governed by parliamentary laws under Article 11, principally through the Citizenship Act, 1955. The Act lays down multiple, time-dependent conditions for citizenship by birth, descent,........