‘Breathes Life Into Constitution’: Big Win For ECI As Supreme Court Upholds SIR Of Electoral Rolls

New Delhi: In a major win for the Election Commission of India (ECI), the Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the poll body’s power to conduct the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Delivering its much-anticipated verdict on the legality of the SIR exercise, the apex court ruled that the Election Commission’s exercise did not violate any law or constitutional provisions, reported NDTV.

“SIR is a step towards an accurate and inclusive electoral roll,” the Supreme Court said, adding that the exercise “breathes life into the Constitution.”

The verdict comes just days before the third and final phase of the SIR begins on May 30 across 16 states and three Union Territories, where fresh verification and revision of voter rolls are set to be carried out by the poll panel.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymala Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi, delivered the verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the legality of the SIR exercise conducted in Bihar and several other states.

“We are equally satisfied that the object sought to be achieved by the SIR bears a direct nexus to the constitutional goal of free and fair elections,” the Supreme Court said.

“The impugned SIR does not detract from the constitutional obligation of free and fair elections,” the court added.

The top court ruled in favour of the poll body, holding that the SIR process was constitutionally and legally sustainable.

The apex court further observed that the poll body had not acted outside its statutory powers merely because the SIR differed from the ordinary electoral roll revision process.

“It can’t be said that the ECI acted outside its statutory powers by exercising SIR. It can’t be termed ultra vires merely because the exercise is different from what is ordinarily conducted,” the bench observed.