EC Scrapped Citizenship Act Reference From SIR Order Despite Commissioner's 'Harassment' Warning

A controversy has erupted surrounding the Election Commission's (EC) nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, after a last-minute change reportedly scrubbed key references to the Citizenship Act from the final order, The Indian Express reported.

Documents reviewed by The Indian Express reveal that hours before the order's release on June 24, Election Commissioner Sukhbir Singh Sandhu had expressed strong caution regarding the drive. Sandhu's initial concern, noted in the draft order, centered on preventing the harassment of vulnerable voters.

He specifically wrote that the verification process, which mandates all electors submit forms and some provide extra documentation, must ensure that "genuine voters/citizens, particularly old, sick, PwD, poor and other vulnerable groups do not feel harassed."

The draft was swiftly approved by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar via WhatsApp, citing the urgency for the rollout.

Crucial Link to Citizenship Act Removed

However, the final directive issued that evening omitted a critical component of the draft. The original text had explicitly linked the SIR to the 2003 amendments to the Citizenship Act, noting that no comprehensive nationwide revision had occurred since their implementation in 2004.

The final, published order dropped this entire explanation. Instead, it only cited Article 326 of the Constitution-which states that only citizens may be enrolled-and ended the paragraph abruptly mid-sentence. The EC has provided no official explanation for this omission.

Commissioner's Warning Partially Adopted
Despite the removal of the citizenship framing, Sandhu's insistence on protecting vulnerable groups did influence the final instruction. Paragraph 13 of the directive now orders field officers to actively facilitate voters and avoid hardship, "including through deployment of volunteers."

Crucially, however, the report notes that the final order also dropped Sandhu's specific reference to "citizens," modifying the language around the protection of genuine electors.