Political activist Yogendra Yadav on Wednesday reacted to the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding the Election Commission’s powers to conduct Special Intensive Review (SIR) of voter lists, saying one of the petitioners in the matter, was not surprised by the ruling as it was “decided long ago”.
The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the SIR exercise upholds the constitutional requirements for free and fair elections. She also said that the steps taken by the Election Commission were legal and proportionate, and adequate procedural safeguards were in place.
Litigant Yogendra Yadav talks about SC’s SIR ruling
Yadav said the Supreme Court’s decision on the matter was expected, and claimed that the ruling BJP would decide “who can vote and who cannot vote”.
The political activist and election analyst strongly criticized the Supreme Court ruling. He claimed that the court moved away from reviewing the constitutional validity of the practice and instead “focused on grievance redress and arbitration.”
In a post on X after the ruling, Yadav said he chose not to attend the Supreme Court proceedings in the SIR case because he believed the outcome had become clear much earlier.
“As one of the litigants in this case, and as someone who has had the honor of addressing the court, I should have been hopeful, concerned, or at least curious,” he wrote. “I was not. The case has long been decided.”
The Court moved away from examining the constitutionality of the SIR and effectively transformed itself into a consumer forum, focused on grievance redress and arbitration, rather than constitutional principles.
He said the case was “effectively decided” when the Supreme Court allowed the Election Commission to continue preparations for the Bihar assembly elections before ruling on the constitutional challenge. He also said that no instructions had been issued to address what he described as “glaring defects” in the electoral rolls after the SIR exercise.
Yadav said the continuation of the SIR process during the hearings had largely weakened the challenge.
“The SIR has become a fait accompli,” he said, adding that the remarks made during the hearings, which indicated that no one would be allowed to obstruct the exercise, reflected the court’s position.
In some of his strongest comments, he said the ruling “allowed the disenfranchisement of millions of citizens, at least 59 million so far, and that number may eventually rise to 100 million.”
“BJP will decide who can vote”
In another post, Yadav said the impact of the decision went beyond just providing legal support to the SIR process.
“The news is not that the Supreme Court declared today that the Election Commission’s decision is constitutional. The real news is that now in this country, the BJP will decide who can vote and who cannot,” he said.
He also said that parts of the Constitution, which he described as “perhaps the last pillar” protecting democratic institutions, “broke and fell today.”
With input from agencies
