New Delhi, July 18: The Supreme Court has clarified that the deletion of a person’s name from the electoral roll does not amount to cancellation of citizenship. The court observed that the Election Commission (EC) is not the constitutional authority empowered to determine a person’s citizenship.
The observations came during the hearing of a petition related to the Special Comprehensive Revision (SCR) of electoral rolls.
Supreme Court Clarifies Election Commission’s Role
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohan Mohanlal observed that if a person’s name is removed from the electoral roll on suspicion of non citizenship, the Election Commission must refer the matter to the Central Government for determination under the Citizenship Act.
The court reiterated that it had made similar observations earlier while hearing matters related to the Bihar electoral roll revision.
The remarks came while hearing a petition filed by Prasenjit Bose, who sought improvements in the functioning of appellate tribunals that hear cases involving deletion of names from electoral rolls.
Senior advocate Gopal Shankar Narayanan, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that the West Bengal government had allegedly denied welfare benefits because the petitioner’s name was not included in the voter list.
Responding to the submission, Justice Joymalya Bagchi observed that the Election Commission cannot decide citizenship. He said the matter must be referred to the concerned ministry under the Citizenship Act, and the individual’s existing legal status would continue until a final decision is taken.
The matter is under further consideration before the Supreme Court. (Maxim News)
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