Can’t cite US verdicts over SIR: Election Commission in Supreme Court

The Election Commission on Thursday opposed reliance on US verdicts before the Supreme Court, citing the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and President Donald Trump's threats to take over Greenland.

During hearing on petitions challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in various states and Union Territories, senior counsel Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the poll panel, cautioned against importing American notions of "due process" into Indian constitutional law, pointing out that US courts often re-evaluated policy decisions – which has been consistently resisted by the Indian Supreme Court.

"The US court judgments have been cited... Where is the US following due procedure of law? President Trump can just pick the President of Venezuela for trial. Where is the due process? And now he wants Greenland also. Here, the petitioners (against SIR exercise) want to import that," Dwivedi told a Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.

CJI Kant said Indian courts have occasionally used the phrase "due process" without fully appreciating its American constitutional origins.

Dwivedi defended the EC’s decision to undertake an SIR of electoral rolls, terming it as "fair, just and reasonable", and urged the Supreme Court to dismiss petitions challenging it. A roving and fishing inquiry into the SIR cannot be done at the behest of a few NGOs and politicians, he submitted.

"None of the 66 lakh persons, whose names were deleted in Bihar SIR, came to this court or high court or filed pleas with the Election Commission. A roving and fishing enquiry cannot be permitted at the instance of ADR (Association for Democratic Reforms) and the PUCL (People's Union for Civil Liberty) and a few parliamentarians," Dwivedi submitted.

Referring to the top court’s judgment dismissing petitions seeking re-introduction of paper ballot replacing the EVMs, Dwivedi said, "In short, we must follow Europe. If they go for EVMs, then we must go for it. And if they go for a paper ballot, then we go for it."