Big win for poll body as Supreme Court upholds SIR, says it breathes life into constitution

PTC News Desk: In a major relief to the Election Commission of India, the Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls as 'legally tenable', ruling that the exercise could not be struck down merely because its procedure differed from the ordinary revision process.

The verdict comes just ahead of roll out of the third and final phase of the  SIR 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.

"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 Chief Justice said while pronouncing the verdict.

"The impugned SIR does not detract from the constitutional obligation of free and fair elections," the court added while upholding the exercise introduced in Bihar and later extended to other states.

The bench also observed that the SIR does not override existing election laws. “Rather, it breathes life into the constitutional mandate under Article 324 within the precise statutory contours provided by Section 21(3),” it stated.

"Therefore, it cannot be said that the Commission has acted in excess of its statutory powers," it added.

The top court’s ruling comes after months of a fierce standoff between the EC and opposition parties over the revision process.