Citizenship not ECI's job, says former SC judge Dhulia on SIR row

Former Supreme Court judge Sudhanshu Dhulia has said that the question of citizenship does not fall within the Election Commission of India's remit, noting that the Supreme Court has settled the law on the subject through a series of judgments.

Speaking at a public interaction, Justice Dhulia, who retired from the apex court in August 2025, was responding to a question about his own remark during a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) hearing in July 2025, when he had observed that citizenship is a matter to be determined by the Ministry of Home Affairs and not by the poll panel.

He said the legal position is that while a voter must be a citizen of the country, the difficulty lies in the heavy conditions imposed in the exercise. Recalling the proceedings before him, he said no party had sought a stay at that stage; the request was only that Aadhaar and voter cards be accepted, which the bench allowed.

Justice Dhulia also addressed reported findings that the two Election Commissioners had recorded objections 14 times in 10 months to steps taken by the Chief Election Commissioner. He described the situation as a serious matter if decisions of the poll body were being taken by the Chief Election Commissioner alone, but cautioned that it was too early to draw conclusions.

Asked about another reported finding, that 97 voters in Goa were not restored to the rolls despite the Chief Electoral Officer writing to the Election Commission, and despite an earlier Supreme Court direction that anyone flagged for a "logical discrepancy" be heard first, the retired judge said contempt of court requires deliberate and wilful disobedience of an order. Both the fact of violation and its wilful nature would have to be proved, he said, adding that authorities could contend that instructions were issued but not followed by lower-level officers. He described contempt as a difficult path to tread in such circumstances.

Justice Dhulia headed a vacation bench in July 2025 that declined to restrain the Election Commission from proceeding with the SIR of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. The bench, which included Justice Joymalya Bagchi, also suggested that the panel consider Aadhaar, voter ID and ration cards for updating the rolls. It was hearing petitions raising concerns over the exercise.

The retired judge clarified that he had served only as a vacation judge for a day or two. Two questions had come before him, and since the matter was not being heard during the vacation, he had the case listed the next day. An interim order was passed on Aadhaar cards and related issues, but the full arguments did not take place before him, he said, adding that questions on the final decision are better directed to the judges who heard the complete arguments.