NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the Election Commission of India’s decision to undertake a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, holding that the revision exercise was within the constitutional and statutory powers of the poll body and was aimed at preserving the integrity of the electoral process.
A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi ruled that the impugned SIR exercise did not violate the provisions of the Representation of the People Act (RPA), 1950 or the rules framed thereunder, and held that the ECI was empowered to undertake such a revision under Article 324 of the Constitution read with Section 21(3) of the RPA Act.
Pronouncing the verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the legality of the SIR exercise, the apex court framed three principal issues for determination -- whether the ECI had the power to conduct such an exercise, whether the inquiry under the SIR was founded on a legitimate purpose and satisfied the test of proportionality, and whether the procedure adopted violated the statutory framework governing electoral rolls.
Answering the first issue in favour of the poll body, the CJI Kant-led Bench observed that the SIR exercise did not supplant the statutory scheme governing revision of electoral rolls. “When the statute itself authorises a special revision at any time, for reasons to be recorded and in such manner as the Election Commission may deem fit, the impugned exercise cannot be invalidated merely because it does not conform in every respect to the ordinary modalities contemplated for routine revision,” the apex court said.
Holding that the ECI had not acted in excess of its powers, the Supreme Court observed that the SIR exercise “breathes life into the constitutional mandate under Article 324 within the precise statutory contours provided by Section 21(3)” of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
It further held that the objective of the SIR exercise bore a direct nexus to the constitutional goal of free and fair elections. “Free and fair elections do not rest merely upon the mechanics of polling. They fundamentally depend upon the integrity, accuracy and credibility of the electoral rolls, which form the foundation of the democratic process,” the CJI Kant-led Bench said. (IANS)
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