NEW DELHI –– The Supreme Court on Friday observed that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is only linked to elections not to decide the citizenship of the people. Any perons whose name didnt appear in the voter list after SIR cannot be denied any benefits under social schemes.
The court said that it had ruled earlier that the Election Commission, which is conducting the voter roll revision, does not have the authority to determine a person’s citizenship status, Live Law reported.
“The Election Commission has a corresponding duty to refer the matter to the government for adjudication under the Citizenship Act… Until and unless that is done, for all other purposes, the status must go on. The EC is not a constitutional authority regarding Articles 9, 10, 11 and 12 [dealing with citizenship rights] of the Constitution,” Justice Bagchi observed.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana made the observation while hearing a petition that the hearing process in the appellate tribunals of West Bengal be streamlined.
Tthe court issued notice to the Election Commission of India, West Bengal government, and the Chief Electoral Officer of the State on a petition filed by Prasenjit Bose, chairperson of the SIR committee, West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee, that deletion from electoral roll has resulted in serious civil consequences extending beyond the right to vote.
The tribunals were set up by the Supreme Court in March for persons to challenge their exclusions from the voter list.
The petition said the West Bengal government is using SIR data to delete names from schemes ensuring food security, women’s welfare and Backward Caste certifications.
The lawyer representing the petitioner said, citing reports, that 34 lakh appeals were pending before the tribunals. He said that only about 38,000 challenges had been adjudicated upon and that they show that at least 70% of the appeals are accepted.