Exclusion from Bihar voter roll won't affect citizenship: Poll body to top court

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has assured the Supreme Court that the citizenship of an individual would not be terminated if one is found ineligible for registration in the electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar.

Mounting a strong defence of the exercise in poll-bound Bihar in an 88-page affidavit, the poll watchdog said it had the authority to request proof of citizenship for "enabling the constitutional right to vote". "No parliamentary law can oust this jurisdiction of the ECI," it said.

The ECI's response was to charges by the opposition that SIR was just a "citizenship screening" exercise and would lead to mass disenfranchisement.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court refused to pause the electoral roll revision exercise in Bihar, but questioned its timing, coming months ahead of the Assembly elections.

The top court also asked the ECI to consider Aadhaar, voter ID card, and ration card as valid documents during the verification drive. These are not included in the current 11-document list.

Justifying its decision not to include Aadhaar, the election body said Aadhaar is merely proof of identity, and it cannot be accepted as a standalone document for SIR.

"Aadhaar does not help in screening the eligibility under Article 326. However, this is not to say that Aadhaar cannot be used to supplement other documents to prove eligibility. It is for this reason that the list is indicative and not exhaustive," the ECI affidavit said.

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