{"id":75783,"date":"2025-12-01T11:13:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T05:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=75783"},"modified":"2025-12-01T11:33:46","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T06:03:46","slug":"citizenship-scrutiny-eci-sir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/citizenship-scrutiny-eci-sir\/","title":{"rendered":"Citizenship Scrutiny &#8211; EC Outlines Its Constitutional Powers"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Citizenship Scrutiny Latest News<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/election-commission-of-india-eci\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Election Commission of India<\/strong><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (ECI) has informed the Supreme Court that the Union Government\u2019s citizenship-related powers are <\/span><b>\u201climited\u2019\u2019<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and do not override the Commission\u2019s constitutional authority to verify citizenship for the purposes of electoral roll maintenance.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This clarification came amid challenges by Opposition parties to the <\/span><b>Special Intensive Revision (SIR)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> process.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Background<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal have argued that the ECI is effectively conducting a citizenship screening exercise akin to a <\/span><b>\u201cde novo National Register of Citizens\u201d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, alleging that only the Centre has exclusive authority to determine citizenship.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ECI, however, has strongly refuted these claims in its 184-page affidavit.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The heart of the dispute revolves around the constitutional and statutory overlap between the <\/span><b>Citizenship Act, 1955<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/representation-of-the-people-act-1950\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Representation of the People Act (ROPA), 1950<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, especially in the context of voter eligibility under <\/span><b>Article 326<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>The ECI\u2019s Clarification on the Limits of Central Authority<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Section 9 of the Citizenship Act and the Centre\u2019s \u201cLimited Role\u2019\u2019<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ECI\u2019s affidavit references Section 9 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, which deals with the termination of citizenship when an Indian citizen voluntarily acquires foreign citizenship.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the ECI, this section grants the Centre the power to determine \u201cwhen or how\u201d an individual acquired foreign citizenship, and only for this purpose.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In other words, the Centre\u2019s jurisdiction is confined to assessing foreign citizenship acquisition and deciding whether Indian citizenship should be terminated.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This does not bar other authorities, including the ECI, from examining other citizenship-related aspects for electoral roll purposes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ECI\u2019s Constitutional Mandate to Assess Citizenship<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Powers under Articles 324 and 326<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ECI asserts that its authority to assess citizenship arises directly from <\/span><b>Article 324<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which vests the Commission with plenary powers of \u201csuperintendence, direction, and control\u201d over elections, and from <\/span><b>Article 326<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which specifies Indian citizenship as a prerequisite for voter registration.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Commission also argued that even Parliament\u2019s authority to enact laws on elections under <\/span><b>Article 327<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> cannot curtail the Commission\u2019s constitutional mandate.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Role of ROPA, 1950<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Section 16<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> explicitly disqualifies non-citizens from being included in the electoral rolls.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Section 19<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> requires electors to be ordinarily resident in the constituency where they seek registration.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Therefore, evaluating citizenship status is an intrinsic duty of the ECI when updating electoral rolls.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Understanding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR)<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Purpose and Legal Basis<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The SIR exercise is carried out under <\/span><b>Section 21(3) of ROPA<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which mandates an \u201cintense\u201d revision whenever \u201cfelt necessities\u2019\u2019 arise, such as concerns over inaccurate or inflated rolls.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ECI clarified that the SIR is not a citizenship determination exercise but a voter list purification exercise, essential to ensuring the integrity of electoral rolls, considered a Basic Feature of the Constitution linked to free and fair elections.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Process of Verification<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Commission stated that electors are only required to sign pre-filled enumeration forms (EFs) delivered to their homes by Booth Level Officers, a minimal and voter-friendly requirement.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The burden is not being shifted to electors, as alleged; rather, the process ensures that voters who cannot be traced to previous revisions (such as the 2002 SIR) can confirm their eligibility.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>ECI\u2019s Rationale for Conducting SIR<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ECI emphasised the need for accurate electoral rolls not just for enrolment but for ensuring that voters are able to reach polling stations and cast votes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thus, the following must be removed from voter lists:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dead persons<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those who have permanently shifted<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Non-citizens<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This ensures that the electoral roll reflects only eligible, traceable voters.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Opposition\u2019s Concerns and ECI\u2019s Response<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Opposition parties have claimed that SIR is unconstitutional and duplicates functions reserved for the Union Government.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They have also criticised the requirement of filling out or signing forms as burdensome.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ECI rejected these arguments, maintaining that:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SIR is constitutional and necessary,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Proof sought from electors is limited to ensuring eligibility for voter lists.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is not an NRC-like exercise nor an attempt to determine citizenship status beyond electoral purposes.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/ec-tells-supreme-court-centres-citizenship-scrutiny-powers-are-limited\/article70342545.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TH<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Election Commission asserts its constitutional authority in citizenship scrutiny for electoral rolls during the SIR exercise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":75803,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[3966,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-75783","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-citizenship-scrutiny","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}