CHENNAI: Following the decision taken at the all-party meeting on Sunday, the ruling DMK on Monday filed a petition before the Supreme Court with a plea to quash the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls that is set to begin across Tamil Nadu today (November 4).
The petition charged that the unconstitutional exercise aims at mass disenfranchisement by introducing an arbitrary cut-off date (2002/2005) and by excluding commonly used documents such as ration card, PAN card and Voter ID from the purview of the process. The petition may come up for hearing on November 6 or 7.
In his affidavit, DMK organisation secretary RS Bharathi argued that the SIR constitutes a violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution, including equality before law (Article 14), the right to freedom of movement and residence (Article 19), and protection of life and personal liberty (Article 21).
The affidavit further contended that the SIR contravenes Article 324, which vests powers with the Election Commission, and Article 325, which prohibits exclusion from electoral rolls on grounds of religion, race, caste, or sex. It also claimed that the SIR is inconsistent with the provisions of the Representation of the People Act of 1950.
‘SIR acting as de facto NRC’
“SIR will arbitrarily, unjustifiably and illegally disenfranchise lakhs of citizens from electing their representatives, thereby disrupting free and fair elections and democracy, which is part of the basic structure of the constitution,” the petition said.
The petition also stated that the ECI has violated the statutory framework by mandating an unprecedented de novo verification of voters based on an arbitrary cut-off date (2002/2005).
Mentioning ECI’s exclusion of widely held documents like ration, PAN cards and Voter ID, the petition contended that the “SIR’s rigid and arbitrary document requirement fails to accommodate the realities of disadvantaged communities who face chronic under-documentation.
Hence, it violates the guarantee of substantive equality under Article 14 and the right to universal adult suffrage under Article 326.” Bharathi further argued that the “callous” attitude of ECI in conducting SIR is also marred by insufficient time for grievance redressal.
The DMK also said, “By imposing citizenship-like burdens of proof, the SIR appears to be acting beyond its statutory purpose, effectively functioning as a de facto National Register of Citizens (NRC).”
Regarding the timing of the SIR exercise, the DMK argued that the period for filing claims and objections falls during the Christmas holidays, and the hearing and verification phase falls during the Pongal festival.