Supreme court upholds power to EC to conduct SIR, says voter list revision part of free and fair polls

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (May 27) upheld the legality of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls carried out by the Election Commission of India (ECI), saying that it “advances the constitutional imperative of free and fair elections”. The court said that conducting a SIR falls within the jurisdiction of the Election Commission.

The bench observed that it can’t be said that the poll panel acted outside statutory powers by exercising SIR. The judgment pronounced by CJI Surya Kant held, “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. In our considered opinion, the impugned SIR does not supplant the Representation of the People Act and the Rules. Rather, it breathes life into the constitutional mandate under Article 324 within the precise statutory contours provided by Section 21(3). Therefore, it cannot be said that the Commission has acted in excess of its statutory powers.”