Supreme Court Rejects Petition to Change Sikkim Election Roll Base Year

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to intervene in the Election Commission of India's decision to use 2002 as the base year for a nationwide revision of voter rolls, dismissing a petition that sought a different baseline for the state of Sikkim. The ruling allows the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Sikkim and 15 other states to proceed with a uniform 2002 cutoff.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana dismissed a public interest litigation filed by a Sikkim-based non-governmental organization, the Sikkimese Mulniwasi Surakcha Sangh. The petitioners had sought a directive for the Election Commission to consider 1993 as the base year for Sikkim, arguing that the state's distinct demographic and constitutional position warranted a different standard.

The court emphasized that the 2002 baseline was being applied uniformly across the country and that the revision exercise was already well underway. The Chief Justice questioned why a different date should be adopted for Sikkim now, stating that the goal post cannot be shifted in the middle of the exercise. The bench noted that voters enrolled in the 2002...