The Election Commission of India, following a directive from the Supreme Court, will forward the list of electors deleted during the special intensive revision (SIR) across 13 states to the competent authority under the Citizenship Act, 1955. This list primarily includes individuals classified as 'others'—separate from those marked as absent, shifted, dead, or duplicate (ASDD) electors—and those deemed of 'suspect' citizenship. It also covers individuals excluded from the electoral roll after adjudication, during which they failed to explain logical discrepancies in their mapping with the previous SIR roll.
EC Officials Welcome Verdict
Election Commission officials welcomed the judgment, stating that the Supreme Court has validated the SIR process and all its procedures. These include seeking further clarification from electors based on logical discrepancies such as mismatches in father's name, gender, or age; being over 45 years but never enrolled; being one of more than six progeny of the same parent; having less than 15 years or over 50 years age gap with a mapped parent; and having less than 40 years gap with a mapped grandparent. Electors who failed to explain these discrepancies were deleted from the rolls. Those challenging the SIR had earlier described these logical discrepancies as an exercise in disenfranchisement.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar stated, "The EC was, is and will always be with the voters."
Data on Deleted Electors
According to EC data for a dozen states covered in the second round of SIR, nearly 6.5 crore ASDD electors were deleted. Over 12.7 lakh were excluded from the roll and classified as 'others,' which sources indicate are essentially "suspect illegal immigrants." Another 63.2 lakh were deleted through Form 7 and adjudication, including over 27 lakh dropped from the West Bengal electoral roll after their appeals were rejected by officers.
Process for Citizenship Verification
The Supreme Court's direction to the EC to hand over 'suspect' citizen cases to the competent authority under the Citizenship Act was already part of the SIR order. The order instructed the electoral registration officer (ERO) and assistant ERO to "forward cases of suspected foreign nationals to the 'competent authority' under the Citizenship Act, 1955." Sources said the competent authority is the foreigners registration office (FRO) or foreigners regional registration office (FRRO). The ERO or sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) may forward the 'suspect' cases to them for verification. If citizenship is verified, the FRO or FRRO may refer the case back to EC authorities, who will then add the person to the electoral roll. Otherwise, the FRO or FRRO may order the suspect to be sent to a detention or holding centre.
