SC seeks details of claims filed by deleted SIR voters; EC, Bengal government asked to reply

SC seeks details of claims from deleted SIR voters

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Election Commission and the West Bengal government to furnish details of claims filed by voters whose names were removed from electoral rolls under the Suspect Identity/Resident (SIR) programme. The court wants to know how many such claims were filed and how many were disposed of.

A bench of justices asked the EC and the state government to submit the data within two weeks. The order came during a hearing on a batch of petitions challenging the deletion of voters from rolls in West Bengal.

EC can delete doubtful voters, cannot decide citizenship

The court made it clear that while the Election Commission has the authority to remove doubtful voters from electoral rolls, it does not have the power to decide citizenship. “Removal from electoral roll does not mean loss of citizenship,” the bench observed.

The observation comes amid concerns that the SIR programme is being used to target specific communities. The court said citizenship is a matter to be determined by competent authorities under the Citizenship Act, not by the EC.

SIR data cannot be used for non-poll purposes

The Supreme Court also reiterated that data collected under the SIR programme cannot be used for purposes other than election-related tasks. The court had earlier flagged misuse of SIR data by other government agencies.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the EC, assured the court that the commission has issued guidelines restricting the use of SIR data to electoral purposes only. The court, however, sought a compliance report from the EC on this issue.

What is the SIR programme?

The Suspect Identity/Resident programme was introduced by the Election Commission to identify voters whose identity or residence is doubtful. Names of such voters are marked in the electoral roll and removed after a summary revision.

Critics argue that the programme is opaque and has led to arbitrary deletion of names, especially in minority-dominated areas. The petitioners have claimed that lakhs of voters in West Bengal have been removed from rolls without proper notice or opportunity to be heard.

What happens next

The Supreme Court will hear the matter next after the EC and the West Bengal government file their responses. The court is expected to examine whether the deletion of voters followed due process and whether adequate remedies were provided to affected individuals.