Overview
- On Monday, August 17 the Supreme Court refused to overturn the Election Commission of India’s choice to use the 2002 electoral roll as the reference for Sikkim’s Special Intensive Revision.
- The petition was filed by the Sikkimese Mulniwasi Surakacha Sangh, which argued that Sikkim’s demographic data do not match additions made in 2002 and that using that year could create anomalies.
- The ECI told the court that an SIR was in fact carried out in Sikkim in 2002 and that the commission adopted a single base year across India for consistency.
- The draft SIR released on July 5 removed about 37,000 names, roughly 8% of the state’s electorate, and the process for claims and objections is under way with a final roll due on September 6.
- By treating the ECI’s choice as a policy decision the court kept the dispute in the administrative track, which means affected voters must seek roll corrections or a special exemption from the Election Commission rather than further judicial review.