Electoral Rolls Current Affairs for UPSC

The Supreme Court has reiterated that the Election Commission of India (ECI) is not the final authority to determine citizenship, and that deletion of a name from the electoral roll during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) does not result in automatic loss of citizenship status. The remarks came while hearing a plea on West Bengal, where over 33.5 lakh appeals against deletions are pending before 19 Appellate Tribunals and deleted voters are allegedly being denied welfare benefits. This article explains the SIR exercise, the Bihar SIR judgment, the ECI's powers, constitutional citizenship provisions, the Citizenship Act framework, and the appellate mechanism for UPSC Prelims and Mains.

The Supreme Court, while upholding the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, has ordered that voters excluded on doubtful-citizenship grounds be referred to the competent authority under the Citizenship Act, 1955 for adjudication within four weeks. Assam's decades-old experience with 'D' (Doubtful) voters shows why this may be far from simple. This article explains the SIR verdict, how the 'D-voter' tag and Foreigners Tribunals work, the burden-of-proof question, and the constitutional and legal framework governing voter citizenship in India.