NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday reiterated that deletion from poll rolls after the SIR exercise does not automatically result in the loss of citizenship.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana made the observation while hearing a petition filed by Prasenjit Bose seeking reforms to streamline the appellate process for persons excluded from the SIR.
“We are conscious of this. In our Bihar SIR judgment, we made it clear that ECI has a corresponding duty: as soon as there is a decision, it has to refer the matter to the Ministry for adjudication under the Citizenship Act. Unless that is done, status must go on,” Justice Bagchi said.
The bench was hearing submissions that 34 lakh appeals remain pending before 19 Appellate Tribunals, with two judges having resigned.
Appearing for Bose, Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan said only around 38,000 appeals have been decided so far, with data showing that at least 70% have been allowed.
He said while the appeals remain pending, the West Bengal government is denying benefits under the PDS, the Annapurna Yojana and even caste certificates to those deleted from the electoral rolls.
“On ground level, citizenship benefits are being denied to those persons,” Sankaranarayanan submitted. “What I am explaining is that after 34 lakh appeals that are pending, if only 38,000 have been disposed of, there are 33 and a half lakh that are still pending. That deprivation will continue until the appeals are heard.”
Justice Bagchi observed that the Election Commission of India (ECI) is not the constitutional authority to determine citizenship under Articles 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the Constitution.
“ECI has control over rolls. It can decide not to include someone. However, that does not result in loss of status of citizenship per se. Therefore, we have given corresponding duty,” he said. The court re-listed the matter for further hearing along with the batch of pleas against the West Bengal SIR.