ECI's Bihar Voter Revision: A Case of Jurisdictional Overreach?
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Indian Polity and Governance (Election Commission of India - ECI, Electoral Rolls, Representation of the People Act 1950, Citizenship Act & Amendments, National Register of Citizens - NRC, Article 326).
Mains:
GS Paper 2: Powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies (ECI); Separation of powers; Government policies and interventions and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Key Highlights from the News
The Election Commission of India (ECI) submitted a counter affidavit in the Supreme Court justifying the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar.
The ECI cites Article 326, which mandates that voters must be Indian citizens, and the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which grants them the authority to prepare electoral rolls.
However, the article criticizes the ECI for not providing any evidence that illegal immigrants have infiltrated the voter list in Bihar.
This action places the burden of re-proving citizenship on all citizens currently on the electoral rolls.
The ECI is using provisions from the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2003, necessary for implementing the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRC), for this revision. However, the government has not decided to implement NRC anywhere other than Assam.
The article argues that the ECI, which has no legal authority to determine citizenship, is taking on that role, constituting a jurisdictional overreach.
The ECI rejected the Supreme Court's advice to accept Aadhaar and ration cards as proof..
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