New Delhi, May 27 (H.S.): The Supreme Court has upheld the Election Commission’s decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in Bihar. Delivering the verdict, a Bench headed by Chief Justice Suryakant stated that the Special Intensive Revision process cannot be declared illegal merely because it differs from the ordinary voter list revision procedure. The Supreme Court described the Special Intensive Revision as a valid and constitutional process.

The Court observed that the procedure is legally valid. It further stated that the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision process is in line with the constitutional objective of ensuring free and fair elections. The Court said that the Election Commission has the authority to verify an individual’s citizenship in order to determine inclusion in or deletion from the electoral rolls.

The Supreme Court had reserved its judgment on January 29. During the hearing, the Election Commission had clarified that the Special Intensive Revision was being conducted strictly in accordance with the provisions laid down in the Constitution. It also stated that the objective of the Special Intensive Revision is solely to purify and update the electoral rolls.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar