100 Former Civil Servants Urge Election Commission to Scrap the SIR

 New Delhi: The Constitutional Conduct Group, comprising former All-India and Central Services civil servants, has called for the scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

In their latest statement, the group has stressed that the controversial exercise has caused widespread voter disenfranchisement through bulk deletions, arbitrary additions, inadequate documentation, partisan instructions and unreasonable demands on citizens.

Placing the burden of proving citizenship on voters exceeds the Election Commission’s constitutional mandate, say the former civil servants, who add that this lacks constitutional justification.

The exercise, they say, will weaken India’s plural democratic fabric.

This open letter comes a day after police in various parts of India, especially New Delhi, brutally manhandled and detained protesters asking for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The full text of the letter is as follows.

The signatories to this letter comprise members of the Constitutional Conduct Group, a collective of former civil servants belonging to the All-India Services and the Central Services, who share an abiding commitment to the promotion of the foundational values of our Republic and the observance of norms of constitutional conduct and constitutional morality.

We have closely followed the media reports on the havoc wrought by the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and have interacted with disenfranchised individuals as well as seasoned civil servants with experience of working in the Election Commission of India (ECI) and handling the election process at different levels. After a great deal of deliberation, we have come to the inescapable conclusion that the SIR exercise needs to be scrapped lest it undermine our commitment to universal adult suffrage, seriously damage the reputation of the ECI, and make a mockery of our democracy. Numerous instances of bulk deletions, absurd additions, sloppy documentation, partisan instructions and unreasonable harassment to citizens have come to light, both episodically as well as through well-researched examinations of the process. 

The constitutional responsibility of the ECI extends to timely conduct of free and fair elections. The SIR, which has placed the burden of proof of citizenship on the voters, is transgressive and without any constitutional justification. The ECI has yet to inform the public whether the decision to undertake the SIR was taken by it on its own, or at the behest of the government. 

We are sure that the ECI has kept track of the burgeoning media reports and social media conversations highlighting the absurdity of the SIR and its long-term implications for our democratic polity, and more specifically, its chilling impact on India's multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingual social fabric. We strongly feel that in order to discharge its constitutional mandate and protect its historic dignity and reputation for impartiality, the ECI should, in the first instance, scrap the SIR altogether and revert to the long-established procedures for registration of electors provided by the rules.

SATYAMEVA JAYATE

Constitutional Conduct Group

The full list of 100 signatories is below.  

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