Necessary corrective, Pg6

Key Highlights:

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced a special summary revision of electoral rolls in 17 States and Union Territories, with January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date.
• This revision is a corrective measure following widespread issues and alleged flaws in the previous Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
• The ECI is conducting a "special drive" to re-enrol voters wrongly deleted during the SIR, using the original Form 6 without the controversial ancestry declaration.
• Objections filed via Form 7 have been capped due to reports of bulk filings, and searchable electoral rolls in text PDFs will be provided to political parties and candidates.
• The Supreme Court of India is currently hearing petitions concerning the SIR and the ECI's conduct, having previously upheld the SIR in May.

Special Summary Revision.jpg

Detailed Insights:

• The annual summary revision was stalled last year due to the implementation of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
• The SIR faced criticism for leading to truncated rolls, wrongful deletions, and a decline in gender ratio in electoral lists in some states, such as Bihar.
• The new drive implicitly acknowledges the flaws of the SIR by dispensing with mapping to older rolls and logical-discrepancy checks.
• States like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Uttarakhand, which are scheduled for early elections next year, will benefit from this opportunity to rectify their electoral rolls.
• In West Bengal, only 3% of 38 lakh appeals against deletions were disposed of by appellate tribunals, with 93% of decided cases restoring electors.
• The article highlights concerns about accountability, noting that two Election Commissioners had objected to decisions made by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
• There is a call for the settlement of the Anoop Baranwal case's appointment process for Election Commissioners, which was overturned by Parliament in 2023.
• CEC Gyanesh Kumar, who presided over the SIR, has faced calls for resignation amid allegations of electoral fraud and manipulation of voter lists.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Election Commission of India (ECI): An autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering election processes in India.
• Special Intensive Revision (SIR): An exercise undertaken by the ECI to verify and revise electoral rolls through house-to-house enumeration and verification of old voter data.
• Form 6: The official application form used for inclusion of a name in the electoral roll for new voters or those shifting constituencies.
• Form 7: An application form used to object to the inclusion of a name in the electoral roll or to seek the deletion of an existing name.
• Anoop Baranwal Case: A 2023 Supreme Court judgment that mandated a committee comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition, and Chief Justice of India for the appointment of Election Commissioners, until Parliament enacted a law.