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

📌 Summary:

• Context: SC ruling on petitions challenging Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls — editorial argues court gave EC an undeserved "free pass"
• Core argument: EC has constitutional mandate for free and fair polls and roll accuracy is legitimate; no party contests these principles — but SC failed to scrutinise EC's specific conduct
• EC's problematic conduct in SIR: (1) Bihar and West Bengal rollouts tilted balance against citizen (2) Burden of proof shifted onto vulnerable voters (3) Onerous documentation regime imposed (4) Compressed timelines for voter, no timeline for appellate process (5) Result: ~27 lakh disenfranchised in West Bengal election
• Causal chain — why SC ruling is "disquieting": (1) Court exonerates EC with benefit of doubt on every count (2) Grants EC "unfettered procedural latitude" (3) Even on citizenship, no guardrails — EC can refer "unsatisfied" cases to Competent Authority within 4 weeks (4) SIR isn't formally a citizenship test but EC empowered to "set the stage" for one (5) Right to judicial review exists but due process is "short-circuited"
• India-specific vulnerability: West Bengal government has announced deleted electors will lose government benefits; political climate of "ghuspaithiya" (illegal immigrant) rhetoric and "communal dog-whistle politics"
• Solution proposed: EC requires "stronger scrutiny" going forward; court should function as custodian of individual rights, not vindicate executive overreach
• Larger import: Tension between electoral integrity and voter inclusion; judiciary's role in protecting due process

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 Polity — Election Commission and its accountability; judicial review of constitutional bodies; due process, citizenship determination; Centre-state-EC dynamics.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• SIR conducted in Bihar and West Bengal
• ~27 lakh disenfranchised in West Bengal
• Citizenship adjudication: by Competent Authority under Citizenship Act, 1955
• EC must refer "unsatisfied" SIR cases within 4 weeks per SC order

🔑 Key Term: Procedural fairness — Constitutional doctrine that government action affecting rights must follow fair process: notice, opportunity to be heard, reasoned decision, right of appeal; central to "due process" jurisprudence under Article 21.