SC on SIR: Any process that's transparent can be adopted, Pg10

Key Highlights:

• The Supreme Court is reviewing the Election Commission's (EC) procedure for Special Summary Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
• The court stated that any fair and transparent process can be adopted if the statute doesn't specify a procedure.
• People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and political parties questioned the EC's power to conduct SIR.
• Arguments will continue on December 2.

Detailed Insights:

• The Representation of the People Act, 1950 outlines specific forms for electoral roll updates, leading to questions about the EC's use of new forms.
• Concerns were raised that the EC's actions might be substantive changes disguised as procedural rules, potentially requiring legislative action.
• The EC's power to conduct SIR on a large scale, affecting crores of people in a state, was challenged, with arguments that it should be limited to individual cases or smaller groups.
• The court questioned whether the EC could selectively apply SIR to only parts of a state if the reasons for the revision are common across all constituencies, raising concerns about discrimination.
• The Aadhaar document can be relied upon for age and residence verification but not for citizenship determination as per the RP Act.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Special Summary Revision (SIR): A process of updating electoral rolls, especially before elections, to include new voters and remove ineligible ones.
• Representation of the People Act, 1950: An act of Parliament that provides the procedures for the conduct of elections to the Houses of Parliament and the Legislatures of each State.
• Article 327: Empowers Parliament to make laws regarding elections to either House of Parliament or the Legislature of a State.