NEW DELHI: The Election Commission has submitted its affidavit over the ongoing special intensive revision of electoral rolls in several states, refuting allegations of mass deletion of genuine voters as “highly exaggerated, speculative and politically motivated.”In an 81-page counter-affidavit filed on November 26 in a petition by TMC MP Dola Sen and others, the poll panel said the narrative alleging widespread disenfranchisement in West Bengal was being “amplified to serve vested political interests.”In the affidavit, Pawan Diwan, the secretary of the Election Commission, sought dismissal of the petitions filed against the poll panel’s decisions to conduct SIR.“That it is submitted, that a harmonious reading of Articles 324 and 326 read with Sections 16, 19, and 22 of the RP Act 1950, read with Rule 21A, makes it clear that the ECI is vested with powers to assess the eligibility of the electors including citizenship for enabling the constitutional right to vote,” it said.“The guidelines issued with respect to the SIR exercise are constitutional and in the interest of maintaining the purity of electoral rolls, which is a pre-requisite for free and fair elections that form a basic feature of the Constitution,” it added.The poll panel also said its powers to undertake such revisions are firmly grounded in Articles 324 and 326 of the Constitution, and in various provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the Registration of Electors Rules. In its affidavit, the poll panel said, “Under Article 324 of the Constitution, the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections to Parliament and to the Legislature of every state are vested in the Election Commission of India.”The EC stressed that the preparation and revision of electoral rolls is a “cooperative and participatory exercise”, and that only those electors who cannot trace their eligibility to the last nationwide SIR conducted in 2002 are required to sign enumeration forms and later submit documents if asked.The affidavit emphasised that eligibility under Article 326 — citizenship, age, residency and absence of disqualification — is presumed unless contrary inputs are received. Therefore, allegations of arbitrary classification or violation of Article 14 were “misconceived”, it said.“That the SIR exercise adds to the purity of elections by weeding out ineligible persons from the electoral roll. The entitlement to vote flows from Article 326 read with Sections 16 and 19 of the RP Act 1950 and Section 62 of the RP Act 1951…,” it said.This comes after a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi sought separate responses from the poll panel on the pleas filed by the DMK, CPI(M), the West Bengal unit of the Congress and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders, challenging the SIR exercise in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal respectively.The pan-India SIR was launched through an order dated June 24, beginning with Bihar. Phase II, covering 12 states including Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, commenced after a follow-up order on October 27, it added.“This Court would be loath to countenance the highly speculative and exaggerated contentions of the petitioner in the present writ petition as regards possibility of mass disenfranchisement and improper implementation of SIR in the State of Tamil Nadu,” it said.It said the ECI is cognizant of its responsibility towards the electors, and all possible efforts are being made to ensure the SIR exercise is implemented successfully and no eligible elector is left out of the electoral rolls.Dismissing these concerns, the EC said the claims were “highly speculative and exaggerated.”
