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Supreme Court hearing on SIR updates: ECI's SIR order doesn't clearly state it is about illegal immigration, notes Bench
Supreme Court hearing on SIR updates: ECI's SIR order doesn't clearly state it is about illegal immigration, notes Bench
The bench rises for the day.
Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi says the writ petitions were filed six days after the SIR order.
“Articles were published in the newspapers, and then writ petitions followed. It has become a fashion to attack the ECI,” he says.
He indicates that statistics could be tweaked to fit narratives.
With that, he concludes his submissions.
The Election Commission says there is nothing manifestly arbitrary in its conduct of the SIR. “There may be errors here and there, but the exercise is bonafide,” the ECI submits.
Rakesh Dwivedi says no directly-affected individuals have come to court.
“Persons who came to court are leaders of political parties and NGOs. Petitioners are only raising a hue and cry, saying they represent unnamed inidividuals,” he states.
Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi says the petitions want a roving enquiry under Article 32 of the Constitution into the work of the ECI.
The ECI criticises the import of the principle of ‘due process' of law from the U.S. in the SIR case.
Rakesh Dwivedi says the U.S. hardly follows due process, “lifting the Venezuelan President” and demanding Greenland.
Rakesh Dwivedi says the 2003 Amendment requires one to prove linkage to one's parents. The SIR has required linkage to the 2002 electoral rolls in keeping with this requirement.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi observes that the SIR order does not pinpoint that verification of citizenship is one of the reasons for conducting this exercise.
He adds that the SIR order does not clearly say ‘illegal immigration'.
Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi replies that ‘migration' would mean both internal and external migrations.
Justice Bagchi then observes that inter-State migrations are always legal. “The aspect of illegality comes only in the case of immigration. Your SIR order does not eloquently state that SIR is also about illegal immigration,” he says.
Rakesh Dwivedi says political parties had raised suspicion about errors in electoral rolls, but now, when the revision is being done, they complain.
“Rule 25(2) of the Registration of Electors Rules, which requires the EC to follow the procedure prescribed from Rules 4 to 23, does not extend to sub-section (3) of Section 21, which relates to special revision of electoral rolls,” says Mr. Dwivedi.
“The term ‘any constituency' in Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act need not be confined to one constituency, it extends to all constituencies,” he adds.
Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the Election Commission, submits that the conditions of Indian citizenship hav become more stringent over the years.
“After the 2003 amendments to the Citizenship Act, both parents were required to be Indians,” he notes.
With the Election Commission of India (ECI)'s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in its claims and corrections phase, it is prudent to ask, yet again, whether the entire process to “clean the electoral rolls” has become a dragnet affecting genuine electors across 12 States.
Read the full editorial here.
The Election Commission (EC) of India said many instances of “logical discrepancies” found in the electoral roll of West Bengal defies science.
Two electors were found with more than 200 children, seven with more than a 100 children, 10 with more than 50 children while another 10 with more than 40.
Read more:
The Election Commission informs the Supreme Court of "logical discrepancies" in West Bengal's electoral roll that challenge scientific plausibility.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday (January 21, 2026) said the Election Commission of India (ECI) is blessed with the “widest discretions” but its “deviations” while revising electoral rolls, as in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2025 exercise, cannot be “untrammelled or unregulated” in breach of principles of natural justice and procedure prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules of 1960.
“You have the authority to deviate, but not by throwing out the Rules... Form 6 has six notified documents, your SIR has 11 documents. We would call upon you to answer if you can increase or eliminate documents which are already prescribed?” Justice Joymalya Bagchi, a member of the Division Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, asked the ECI.
Read more:
Supreme Court emphasises that the Election Commission's discretion in revising electoral rolls must remain regulated and transparent.
Published - January 22, 2026 01:47 pm IST
Live news / West Bengal / Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls / Supreme Court
Source: TheHindu
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