EC power to verify citizenship flows from Constitution, poll panel tells SC, Pg1

Key Highlights:

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) asserted its constitutional power to verify citizenship for electoral roll inclusion/exclusion in the Supreme Court on Tuesday.
• The ECI stated that the Citizenship Act, 1955, and the Foreigners Act, 1946, do not limit its authority in assessing citizenship.
• The Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, is hearing petitions challenging the validity of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
• The Congress party in Assam protested alleged manipulation of voter lists, raising concerns about the inclusion of "temporary voters" from other states.

Detailed Insights:

• The Constituent Assembly intended for authorities to determine who is ordinarily a resident for voter list inclusion, a power the ECI claims is inherent and constitutionally derived.
• Assam is undergoing a Special Revision of electoral rolls due to its unique history with the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process.
• The Special Revision in Assam involves house-to-house visits by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) for physical verification, but it does not include document verification like the SIR.
• The Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Assembly alleged unauthorized inclusion of non-Assamese speaking voters in a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner.
• The Chief Minister of Assam has directed the opposition party to follow the set procedure if they have any concerns that need to be addressed.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Electoral Rolls: List of persons registered and eligible to vote in an election.
• Citizenship Act, 1955: Legislation that defines how Indian citizenship is acquired and lost.
• Foreigners Act, 1946: Empowers the government to detain, deport, and restrict the movement of foreigners in India.