EC has a lot to answer but SC gives it a free pass — and more

📌 Summary:

• Context: SC ruling on petitions challenging the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls (Bihar, then West Bengal)
• Core argument: SC failed to scrutinise EC's conduct of SIR and instead handed it a "free pass" with unfettered procedural latitude — even on the politically sensitive citizenship question
• Why SIR is needed (the uncontested part): Periodic clean-up of rolls is necessary because of large-scale migration, rapid urbanisation, illegal cross-border movement, non-reporting of deaths, duplication of entries
• Causal chain of disenfranchisement: (1) EC shifted burden of proof onto vulnerable voters (poor, migrants, women without paperwork) (2) Onerous documentation regime — voters must produce documents not previously required (3) Compressed timelines for the voter, but no timelines for the appellate process (4) Net effect: ~27 lakh voters disenfranchised in West Bengal
• The citizenship overreach: SC said EC can do a "limited enquiry" for inclusion in rolls — not a citizenship determination, which lies with "Competent Authority under the Citizenship Act". But the same ruling directs that if EC "is not satisfied" a person meets the statutory conditions, EC must refer the case to the Competent Authority within 4 weeks — effectively, EC sets the stage for a citizenship test through the back door
• Solutions/recommendations: Court should impose timelines on appellate process; burden of proof should remain with the State, not the voter; EC must publish methodology and disenfranchisement data before any further roll-out

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 Polity — EC's constitutional mandate (Art. 324), separation of powers, judicial review of EC actions, balance between electoral integrity and voter inclusion, RPA 1950/1951, Citizenship Act 1955.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• Special Intensive Revision (SIR) — distinct from Summary and Intensive Revisions; conducted under Section 21 of RPA, 1950
• Article 324 — vests superintendence, direction & control of elections in EC
• Competent Authority under Citizenship Act, 1955 — refers to Foreigners Tribunals / District Magistrates depending on context
• ~27 lakh — voters reportedly disenfranchised in West Bengal SIR

🔑 Key Term: Disenfranchisement — formal removal of a person's right to vote, typically through deletion of name from the electoral roll. Concern: the SIR shifts the default from inclusion to exclusion.