Poll panel's SIR orders for Bihar, other states and UTs were unanimous: EC sources amid row

The approved SIR orders include Declaration Form to be submitted along with Form 6 for new voters to be added to reduce paper work and for the ease of citizens.

The Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners “unanimously” approved the orders pertaining to the Special Intensive Review (SIR) process for Bihar and other states, sources in the Election Commission said on Friday amid an ongoing row over alleged disagreement within the poll body.

File photo of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar with election commissioners SS Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. (@ECISVEEP)

The approved SIR orders include a Declaration Form to be submitted along with Form 6 for the inclusion of new voters, a step aimed at reducing paperwork and easing the registration process for citizens. This is in line with Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and has also been upheld by the Supreme Court.

States covered in SIR so far

The SIR process has been conducted in three phrases across the country so far – starting with Bihar in the first phase. The second phases included 12 states and union territories – Andaman & Nicobar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

The third phase, announced in May this year, covered 16 states and three union territories. These were Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Tripura, Telangana, Uttarakhand, union territories of Delhi, Chandigarh, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

Dissent row and ECI's clarification

This comes amid row over a newspaper report that alleged that that the decisions taken on SIR process were objected to by two of the three poll commissioners, a claim refuted by the poll body saying that “internal checks-and-balances are standard” practice in a multi-member constitutional body.

“All actions of ECI have been in accordance with laws and instructions of the Commission,” the poll body said in a statement on Wednesday.

After the row turned into a flashpoint between the government and the Opposition, the poll body said its three members may have individual views, observations or suggestions during deliberations, but all final decisions of the poll body are taken unanimously.

“Differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberation in any institution. They are a part of the decision-making process before a final decision is taken. Not only the three Commissioners, but every officer of the Commission is fully authorised to give his suggestions to the Commission for improving the electoral system,” the statement said.