The Supreme Court on Monday refused to interfere with the Election Commission of India’s decision to retain 2002 as the base year for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Sikkim.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana dismissed a PIL filed by the Sikkimese Mulniwasi Surakacha Sangh, which sought 1993 to be considered as the base year instead of 2002.
The petitioner argued that electoral data added in 2002 did not correspond with Sikkim’s demographic data and that using 2002 as the base year could lead to further anomalies.
The bench, however, said voters enrolled in the 2002 electoral roll had exercised their franchise in subsequent elections in the state. It also noted that the ECI had uniformly fixed 2002 as the base year across states, as the last SIR was conducted that year.
“The goal post cannot be shifted in the middle of the exercise. 2002 has been kept as the base year for the entire country. We will not interfere with the decision of the Election Commission of India (ECI).”
The court said the petitioner could approach the ECI seeking a reasonable exemption for Sikkim.
CJI Kant observed that no aggrieved individual had approached the court apart from the NGO and cautioned that allowing the organisation to seek judicial interference in the ECI’s decision would be a “dangerous proposition”.
Justice Bagchi noted that every border state faces challenges related to migration and demographic changes.
The bench concluded that no grounds had been made out to interfere with the ECI’s decision and dismissed the petition.
(With inputs from PTI)