Spokesperson: Adv. Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi: Senior Congress leader and MP Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that the Supreme Court decision regarding the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls has raised more questions than it has answered.

The SC observed that the formal and final decision on citizenship cannot be taken by the Election Commission of India, but only by the competent authority, primarily the Ministry of Home Affairs. He pointed out, the ECI excluded voters on citizenship-related grounds and questioned whether this contradiction should not have come to the notice of the Supreme Court?

Dr. Singhvi said that the court itself had noted and underlined several gaps, omissions, errors and deficiencies on part of the ECI, for which it said, it had to undertake structural improvements and corrections by judicial interventions. He said the ECI’s errors and gaps were filled through petitions filed by the political parties and NGOs after which Aadhaar was added in the list of approved documents and the names of 65 lakh deleted voters were put on the website so that deletions could be challenged. He asked, why had the ECI not taken these steps, and argued that such errors and omissions should have found mention by the Supreme Court.

Dr. Abhishek M. Singhvi said that the SC should have taken note of is the “excessively constricted and telescoped time period” for the SIR. Pointing out that the EC conducted the process involving crores of voters within four to five months in states such as Bihar and Bengal, He said that the SC ought to have asked, but has not done so, why the SIR process cannot be conducted a year before the elections? He said that carrying out such an exercise involving crores of people within a very short period amounts to telescoping of the process.

Dr. Singhvi pointed out that the SC has rightly held that Aadhaar, ration cards and other documents except the passport are not proof of citizenship. But, he added, the ECI excluded names on the basis of these documents only. He said, this should also have evoked comment and findings from the SC.

The senior Supreme Court lawyer raised another important point regarding the upholding of the appeals against voter deletions. He said that in West Bengal, nearly 4,000 out of 6,000 appeals against voter deletions were upheld. He asked if the success rate of such appeals is 70 to 80 per cent, will it not put a big question mark on the credibility of elections. Wednesday, May 27, 2026.