Overview
- Arguing before a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, the Election Commission said Articles 324 and 326, read with provisions of the Representation of the People Act, empower it to assess citizenship for electoral roll inclusion.
- Counsel for the ECI contended that the Citizenship Act, 1955, and the Foreigners Act, 1946, do not curtail this authority in the context of preparing and revising voter lists.
- The Commission insisted the Special Intensive Revision is not a parallel NRC, noting electoral rolls cover only eligible citizens aged 18 and above and exclude those disqualified from voting.
- Petitioners relied on Section 9(2) of the Citizenship Act to say citizenship determinations rest with the Central Government, which the ECI countered applies narrowly to loss of citizenship through foreign naturalization.
- To support its stance, the ECI cited Constituent Assembly materials, a Nehru resolution on voter rolls, and the Supreme Court’s 1995 Lal Babu Hussein ruling, with hearings scheduled to resume on January 8.