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The Wire
17-07-2025
- Politics
- The Wire
EC ‘Subjecting 2.9 Cr Voters to Rigorous Exercise to Identify Handful Illegal Immigrants': Ex-CEC O.P. Rawat on Bihar SIR
As the Election Commission of India's contentious revision of electoral rolls in Bihar through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise continues to purify voter rolls and weed out illegal immigrants, former Chief Election Commissioner O.P. Rawat has said that subjecting 2.9 crore voters to this rigorous exercise 'just to identify a handful of illegal immigrants, this close to the assembly elections is not good.' On June 24 the EC issued instructions for holding SIR in Bihar, stating that the last such exercise was conducted in the state in 2003. The commission, in announcing the house-to-house verification exercise, said that it had been necessitated due to various reasons, among which was the inclusion of 'foreign illegal immigrants' in the electoral roll. In an interview to The Wire, Rawat who served as CEC from January 23 to December 1, 2018, said that while the exercise being conducted by the poll body will help in identifying illegal immigrants, an intensive revision was not necessary for this purpose. 'For identifying illegal immigrants and purifying electoral rolls of these illegal immigrants, the law provides a very easy solution,' said Rawat. 'Throwing crores of voters (into this exercise) just for identifying a handful of illegal immigrants – that is not good. That's the main issue that 2.9 crore voters are subjected to this rigorous exercise where they feel hopeless just to identify a few illegal immigrants. You can identify them separately and you can do that continuously and law provides that. So, for that purpose going for intensive revision and subjecting crores of people to this kind of exercise this close to the election, I don't think this is good.' Read excerpts from the interview: 1) This is the first time that the EC seems to be conducting the SIR. The Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, speaks about intensive, summary and partly intensively and partly summarily. The Election Commission's website on the other hand lists a fourth kind, called the Special Summary Revision. Is this a new exercise that the commission is doing? Under the law there are only two types of revision – summary and intensive. 'Special' is added by the Election Commission when they do not conform to the template of the revision under the law but tinker with certain elements. Intensive means house to house surveys, filling up of the forms by the BLO, among others. Since all those things have been done away with – basically pre-filled forms are being distributed – they are calling it a Special Intensive Revision. Same thing for summary revision where the general summary revision, according to the law, is that you publish the draft roll and call for claims, objections, applications within 30 days and adjudicate it in 30 days and then publish the final roll. But at times this is not available. So, they call it a special summary revision and do a truncated exercise. Special is only that much in that if it is not exhaustively having all characteristics of that revision it will be called 'special'. So they are almost the same. Not that much difference. Questions have been raised about the timing of the Bihar SIR and its proximity to the assembly elections. Is that a cause of concern? Three months is the time required for any revision. The timeline is: issue order, publish draft, call for claims and objections, hear them and then publish final rolls. In this case, after the final publication before the election, there is a very short window of one and a half months or two months. That is a cause for concern because whenever intensive revision was conducted in the past, elections were about a year or more away. So any grievance about exclusion or inclusion could get redressal through an appeal forum. But this time this gap is only 1.5 months. Our appeals fora are not that efficient in that they will dispose of all appeals in two or three days or even 15 days. They may take months. That is why there was panic among the people. Opposition parties in Bihar have said that a large part of Bihar's population are migrant workers and a lot of this exercise is digital where forms are meant to be downloaded for those who are outside the state. Could this exercise have been conducted in a manner that would ensure their inclusion? Bihar's migration is of two different types. Major migration takes place after the Kharif crop is harvested, after October-November, and they do not migrate before that. But there are people who have already migrated to Mumbai, Delhi or other big towns but want to keep their enrollment at home. These people were facing difficulty, so the Election Commission has facilitated them by saying that you can use your phone to upload your enumeration form online and the documents that you want to submit. Those born after 2004 are being asked to furnish proof of citizenship for themselves and their parents. Is this a departure from the previous intensive revisions? I cannot compare with the 2003 revision order as I did not have access to it. But earlier intensive revisions had different templates – something added, something subtracted – no two can be similar. A contentious part of this exercise is that existing electors will also have to prove their citizenship. Is that ordinarily part of intensive revisions? Everyone has to be verified under intensive revisions. But this time, the Election Commission made a distinction: because time was short, they thought it prudent that all those who find their name in the 2003 roles (when the last intensive revision was conducted) need not submit any proof. They will be deemed citizens and they can submit their enumeration forms along with the reference to the 2003 rolls and that will be good enough. These people are about 65% which means about 5 crores. But as a necessary corollary, the remaining 2.97 crores they are required to prove their citizenship and this being a very huge number, Election Commission also relaxed this. On July 6, they issued an advertisement in Bihar that even those who do not find their name in 2003 electoral rolls can submit their forms without any document (from the list of 11) which can be submitted later but before August 30. That has facilitated these people. BJP ally TDP, in its letter to the Election Commission, has said that any future SIR should make it explicitly clear that the exercise is not related to citizenship verification. The exercise being conducted now is alleged to be a citizenship verification exercise and not purification of electoral rolls. How do you see this? In a way, they are right because in 1995, the Supreme Court said in a case concerning the Election Commission that investigating, certifying or issuing orders about citizenship including deportations all lie in the domain of the home ministry and nobody else has the authority to do these kinds of activities. This was also mentioned during the Supreme Court hearing recently. There is a slight contradiction here because Article 326 says that all Indian citizens who are above the age 18 (earlier 21) will have the right to vote and enrol in the electoral rolls. Since this Article says 'all Indian citizens', the Election Commission's mandate is to enrol them. Unless they know the citizenship status how can they enrol? But the other side says that the Election Commission themselves – keeping in view the 1995 judgement of the Supreme Court – in their application for enrolment in Form 6 have not asked for any proof of citizenship and have only asked for a declaration (of being a citizen). And that declaration was taken as proof of citizenship. The Election Commission has the authority that if something is wrong prima facie with the citizenship status they could find out, collect evidence and then take legal action for false declaration. But not for investigating citizenship. This examination of citizenship in this exercise is a new development compared to previous exercises – that now the burden of proof is on the individual to prove that they are a citizen as opposed to earlier? That is a fact. The Election Commission always used to proactively enrol people without much ado about citizenship. Even in this intensive revision, Form 6 is being submitted with the declaration being enough. It seems to be a dichotomy that new registration is based on Form 6, whereas all those who are already there on the electoral roll have to submit proof. Since the proof was not available easily and time was running out so the Election Commission themselves relaxed it and said that submit the enumeration form and proof can be given later extending time to August 30. So that is a problem area. If time (for this exercise) was a year or year and half, there would have been no hue and cry. Time is short, elections are round the corner. These documents cannot be easily procured, as it is also the season of floods and heavy rain. EC said through sources that illegal immigrants from Nepal, Myanmar and Bangladesh have been found through this exercise. But in 2019, the EC told parliament that only three instances of 'foreign nationals' on electoral rolls were found. Is the purification of electoral rolls going to help weed out illegal immigrants in this manner? It will help. But for identifying illegal immigrants and purifying electoral rolls of these illegal immigrants, law provides a very easy solution. Collect the prima facie evidence, issue show cause notice, ask for their reply and evidence and if you are not satisfied give them personal hearing and if you are still not satisfied delete their names. This exercise in many states goes on continuously without waiting for any revision. If you are worried about illegal immigrants, then this exercise should be made standing instruction that every state will continue this exercise of identifying and deleting their names. Because EC does this exercise for identifying migrated voters, dead voters or duplicate voters, by using different software like de-duplication software, photo recognition software – all those things are with the Election Commission and they have been doing it. Throwing crores of voters just for identifying a handful of illegal immigrants – that is not good. That is the main issue that 2.9 crore voters are subjected to this rigorous exercise where they feel hopeless just to identify a few illegal immigrants. You can identify them separately and you can do that continuously and law provides that. So, for that purpose going for intensive revision and subjecting crores of people to this kind of exercise, this close to the election, I don't think this is good.
Time of India
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Template set for changes in Form 6 & 8 ahead of nationwide SIR
Amid the Special Intensive Revision ( SIR ) in Bihar, the Election Commission has made a significant change to document requirements not just for existing electors but also new electors and electors shifting their residence- a change that may be effected across the country. Both the categories in Bihar-- new electors and electors shifting from outside the state -- must give parental proof of birth now through a special 'declaration form', as per ECI's SIR instructions of June 24. With this, the stage is likely set for a full shift in Form 6 and 8 requirements across the country, especially as the poll panel has announced its intent to extend the revision to all states. The same, officials indicated, may require an amendment to the Registration of Electors Rules to take it nationwide, a decision likely to be taken as the Bihar SIR nears completion. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Doctors Are Stunned: This Patch Targets Stubborn Belly Fat Overnight Today's Health Insight Learn More Undo Under Rules 13(1) and (26) the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, Form 6 is the prescribed application form for registering new voters. So far, a new voter had to provide only his own proof of birth and residence with Form 6. Live Events As per rules 13(3) and (26) of the 1960 Rulebook, Form 8 is the Voter Application Form for shifting of residence/correction of entries in existing electoral roll/ replacement of EPIC/marking of persons with disability. For the same, an applicant must currently furnish a self-attested copy of address proof. However, in its June 24 instructions, the ECI has stated that 'in case of application for registration as a new elector or for shifting from outside the state', a person will have to fill an 'additional Declaration Form' along with Form 6/Form 8 in Bihar. The Declaration Form is essentially the same as given in the new Enumeration Form distributed to all electors in Bihar and it comes with the same categorisation -- to identify those born between 1987 and 2004 and those born after 2004. Besides their own proof of birth, the latter two categories are to provide proof of birth of one parent and both parents respectively. The document of proof can be any one of the 11 documents EC has stipulated for existing electors in Bihar-Aadhaar, ration cards are not included. In effect, just as the SIR is bringing in the existing electoral roll in Bihar in sync with the requirements under Section 3 of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2003, it is also ensuring every new voter and those shifting into the state are also aligned with the same.
Time of India
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
JMM urges SC to declare SIR unconstitutional
Dharwad: The Janandolan Maha Maitri (JMM), a branch of National Committee for Protection of Natural Resources (NCPNR), has criticised the Election Commission of India for taking up SIR (Special Intensive Revision) in Bihar and has termed it as an ill-advised move. Speaking to media in Dharwad JMM chief and anti-graft activist SR Hiremath urged the Supreme Court of India to declare SIR as unconstitutional and uphold the democratic principles enshrined in the Constitution. He stated that SIR violates Articles 14, 19, 21, 325, and 326 of the Constitution, as it contravenes the provisions of the Representation of the People's Act, 1950, and Rule 21A of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. If SIR is not set aside by the SC, it can arbitrarily and without due process disenfranchise crores of voters (as much as 30 to 50% of the country) from electing their representatives, thereby disrupting free and fair elections and democracy in the country, which are part of basic structure of the Constitution, Hiremath said. "This would be totally against the bold experiment of Universal Franchise pledged by our Founding Fathers, who enshrined it in Constitution will be negated. It is important to identify and expose the powers that be, who have made the ECI do this 'retrograde' and 'dangerous move' of the ECI," he added. Dropping land acquisition The JMM, Citizens for Democracy (CFD) and NCPNR fully support the satyagraha of the 13 villages of Channapattana Hobli (Devanahalli Taluka, Bengaluru Rural Dist) 'Bhoo Swadheena Virodhi Horata' and call upon the state govt and the chief minister, who when in the opposition, had promised that, if voted to power, they would cancel the acquisition proceedings of the KIADB to acquire 1,777 acres of fertile lands of the farmers in 13 villages. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Why seniors are rushing to get this Internet box – here's why! Techno Mag Learn More Undo "Siddaramaiah reiterated his promise to the Samyukta Horata members during a meeting, that he would need additional time until July 15 to overcome legal hurdles and confirming the next meeting. The govt should quash the land acquisition process and protect the interests of the farmers by protecting their fertile lands", Hiremath demanded.
India Today
09-07-2025
- Politics
- India Today
How even non-citizens get to vote in India. The devil lies in Form 6
The Election Commission's decision to conduct an intensive revision of electoral rolls across India, beginning with poll-bound Bihar, has sparked a massive political storm. The Election Commission (EC) wants to weed out non-citizens from the electoral rolls. This begs the question – How did non-citizens become voters in the first place? The answer to this question lies in Form 6, issued by the EC, is to be used by Indians who are 18 or older to register as voters in the area of their the EC is trying to weed out non-citizens from voters' lists through the special intensive revision (SIR), the lacuna in Form 6 has come under criticism. The Form 6 doesn't require applicants to provide any documents to prove they are Indians. A mere declaration and proof of date of birth and address suffices. The provisions of Form 6 are laid out in the the Registration of Electors Rules, part of the SIR, the EC is conducting a door-to-door exercise in last such intensive revision of the voter list in India took place in 2003-2004. Since then, there have been only summary revisions, and millions of doubtful voters might have ended up voting. The summary revision is a routine update of voter lists, while the SIR is a more detailed one to verify and clean up the Opposition parties and activists have taken the matter to the Supreme Court, it was the Congress itself, which raised the question of the sanctity of the electoral list after the polls in Maharashtra in citizens of India should be allowed to decide the country's course, and for that it has to be ensured that illegal immigrants do not get to has 20 million Bangladeshi illegal immigrants, Kiren Rijiju, then junior Home Minister, told Parliament in 2016. The demography of dozens of districts in the country has changed due to illegal intensive revision of electoral rolls is a must to rid them of the illegal immigrants who might have surreptitiously sneaked into the voter list. But the most important thing is to ensure that non-citizens do not become voters in the first place.A former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) told India Today Digital that not just Form 6, the entire electoral process needed a relook because of the deluge of illegal immigrants into the country over by India Today Digital to get an official response on the process of registration of voters from the office of Director General (Media) of the EC bore no results. An Electoral Registration Officer cum Sub-Divisional Officer in Bihar's Motihari reviews the distribution of enumeration forms by BLOs. (Image: Chief Electoral Officer, Bihar/X) FORM 6 AND THE AADHAAR LINK IN NEW VOTER REGISTRATIONAs part of the intensive revision of the voter list in Bihar, the EC on June 24 issued a list of 11 documents, one of which is to be used to prove identity card or pension payment order, birth certificate, passport, matriculation certificate, domicile, caste or forest right certificates are among the 11 list doesn't include Aadhaar card, PAN and driving licence, generally used across India as ID reason -- Aadhaar or the other documents are identity proof but do not prove Aadhaar is one document that can be used in Form 6."The Form 6, which is required to be filled to become a new voter, does not ask for any citizenship documents. It requires just a declaration of citizenship," says political strategist and commentator Amitabh proof of date of birth and address, Aadhaar can be given. So, in that entire document [Form 6], Aadhaar is mentioned six times. Citizen is mentioned twice," Tiwari, founder of Ascendia Strategies, tells India Today EC's SIR exercise has been challenged in the Supreme Court over the list of 11 documents and the timing, which the Opposition says is close to the election in parties have questioned the exclusion of everyday documents like Aadhaar in the leader Tejashwi Yadav sought that Aadhaar, other than ration and MNREGS cards, be allowed as proof of place of birth for the in The Indian Express suggested that Aadhaar was among the most-available documents across several districts in ONE BECOMES A VOTER IN INDIAOther than the annual correction or summary revision, there is an extensive drive to add new voters ahead of every officers (BLOs) are supposed to pass on the Form 6 to the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), who decides on the final of polls, even block-level agents (BLAs) of political parties too get involved in the process with the incentive that helping applicants register as voters would boost their party's say that the process of adding first-time voters takes the form of a sales-target job."When Form 6 was initially introduced in 1952, no one foresaw such a large scale inflow of illegal immigrants," a former Chief Election Commissioner told India Today Digital, requesting anonymity."It is common knowledge that non-citizens are using Aadhaar to get into the electoral process," he former CEC explained that connecting an Aadhaar number to a voter's Electronic Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) is an attempt at removing duplicate and multiple voting entries of an individual. The Form 6 is used by Indian citizens aged 18 or above to apply for inclusion of their name in the electoral roll of their place of residence. (Image: Election Commission) WHY INDIA SHOULD RIGOROUSLY VET CITIZENSHIP OF VOTERSThough the government might have sought to use Aadhaar to curb voter fraud, the use of the very same to register as a voter through Form 6 might have allowed non-citizens to get onto the voter former CEC said ways and means will have to be developed to prevent the entry of non-citizens on the electoral rolls."Hereafter, Form 6 will have to be revised. Not just Form 6, the entire electoral process will need to be looked into to prevent non-citizens from getting into the electoral process," he it isn't difficult to register as a voter with the help of Aadhaar was, ironically, pointed out by RJD's Tejashwi Yadav himself as he criticised the SIR."My wife, who was earlier a voter in Delhi, got her voter ID made in Bihar after our marriage, based on her Aadhaar card. Why, then, is the Aadhaar card excluded from the list of documents required for the SIR in Bihar," he asked. The EC has held that the Aadhaar card is neither proof of date nor place of birth, and neither of citizenship, according to a report in The Times of India on July 6."Even the Aadhaar Act doesn't say that the Aadhaar card is a proof of citizenship," another former CEC, Ashok Lavasa, told India Today TV, when asked if the Aadhaar card was enough to prove citizenship for the SIR the intensive revision of voter rolls is needed to verify the authenticity of those already registered to vote, there should be thorough vetting before voters are which faces a big problem of illegal immigration, cannot have a lax process in registering to the "lower benchmark" in enroling first-time voters "because there is always a pressure on ECI and other bodies to have as many voters as possible", Tiwari suggests tightening the system at the entry point says proof of citizenship, and not just a declaration, should be mandatory while enroling first-time voters as the Supreme Court takes up the issue of the EC's intensive revision exercise in Bihar, it is high time that India makes the process of registering as a voter robust, so that non-citizens can be kept out of deciding its destiny.- EndsMust Watch
Time of India
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
PIL in SC seeks electoral roll revision across country
New Delhi: In response to petitions filed in the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission of India 's (ECI) decision to conduct a special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, a public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed seeking a direction to the poll panel to undertake similar exercises across the country at regular intervals, particularly before elections, to ensure that only Indian citizens cast their vote and not illegal foreign infiltrators. The PIL, filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, argued that the demographic profile of 200 districts and 1,500 tehsils has changed since Independence, owing to what he terms "massive illegal infiltration, deceitful religious conversions and population explosion". According to the petitioner, a nationwide special intensive revision is essential for free and fair elections. "It is very surprising that various petitions have been filed before this court praying for setting aside or quashing the ECI's order on the ground of violation of Articles 14, 19, 21, 325, 326 of the Constitution and provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. Petitioner submits that the special intensive revision exercise, rather than being violative of the aforesaid provisions, is a timely and necessary exercise aimed at ensuring purity, accuracy, and integrity of the electoral rolls and universal adult enfranchisement," he said in his petition. Upadhyay argued that even marginal discrepancies, as few as 2,000 to 3,000 votes, can sway election outcomes in an assembly constituency, and therefore, regular and robust revision of rolls is required. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like One of the Most Successful Investors of All Time, Warren Buffett, Recommends: 5 Books for Turning... Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Click Here Undo "If not conducted, the integrity of elections, and the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution, would be jeopardised," he said. The petition highlighted that Bihar, along with Assam, West Bengal and Jharkhand, is reported to have witnessed large-scale illegal immigration, particularly from Bangladesh. "Parts of Bihar, especially the Seemanchal region adjoining West Bengal and Nepal, are said to have seen an asymmetric growth in population. The region, comprising four districts, is not far from the Siliguri corridor or 'Chicken's Neck', where Bangladeshi territory juts in," the petition stated. "The Seemanchal region, which is also considered the most backward in Bihar, has a 47% Muslim population, as against Bihar's state-wide average of 18%, due to massive illegal infiltration," it claimed. "Special intensive revision assumes significance as it seeks to operationalise and give effect to the constitutional and statutory mandate of ensuring that only Indians are enrolled as electors, by enabling verification of citizenship, a qualification that lies at the very core of the right to vote," the petition stated. "Thus, it should be made a recurring exercise and conducted nationwide at regular intervals. "
