Citizenship has to be ‘continuously fulfilled’ to retain place in electoral roll: EC to Supreme Court in SIR hearing

The Election Commission of India (ECI) defended its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar before the Supreme Court, arguing that it was a verification process, not a determination of citizenship. Senior advocate Maninder Singh for the ECI stated that voters must continuously fulfill the essential conditions outlined in Article 326 of the Constitution to remain on the electoral roll. The ECI argued that the SIR is designed to verify existing voter eligibility and increase voter turnout, citing an example of increased participation after the door-to-door survey conducted during the exercise. The ECI emphasized that it did not add any additional limitations beyond those already established in Article 326 and related legislation.