The Supreme Court of India has come up with a significant constitutional issue while considering a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) relating to deleting names from the voter list in Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
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What Is the Case About?
This case was brought before the Court, stating that the removal of names from the voting list due to questions of citizenship led to exclusion from welfare schemes, including ration cards. According to the case, there were many people who had appealed against the deletion of their names but were still struggling to obtain benefits provided by the government.
SC on Citizenship: What Did the Supreme Court Say?
During the hearing, the Supreme Court observed that while the Election Commission has the constitutional authority to prepare and revise electoral rolls, it cannot decide whether a person is an Indian citizen. The bench stated that if the Election Commission has doubts regarding a person’s citizenship, it can forward such cases to the Union Government, which is the competent authority to determine citizenship under the law. The court emphasised that deleting a person’s name from the voter list should not be treated as a final declaration that the individual is not an Indian citizen.
Why Welfare Benefits Became a Major Issue?
As per the petition, there are some people whose names got deleted during the SIR process, and they have claimed that they either did not receive any benefits from welfare schemes like Public Distribution System (PDS) and the Annapurna scheme, or they are worried about losing them.
Election Commission’s Role Explained
The Supreme Court reiterated that the Election Commission’s responsibility is limited to maintaining accurate electoral rolls. Its powers include adding or removing names from the voter list based on the electoral laws.
