The Election Commission of India (ECI) is facing an unexpected flashpoint in West Bengal, where the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has collided head-on with the unresolved citizenship claims of CAA-protected migrants.
At the heart of the controversy is a simple matter: if citizenship documentation becomes uncertain, voting rights inevitably come under a cloud. The petition before the Supreme Court filed by NGO Atmadeep on behalf of religiously persecuted migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan argues that those who are eligible for fast-tracked citizenship under the CAA may be left out of the SIR process. That exclusion, the plea says, will translate into their names being deleted from the voter list, triggering a cascade of political and humanitarian consequences.
ECI’s tightrope
For the Election Commission, the CAA–SIR overlap is not merely an administrative inconvenience; it is a perception battle. The SIR is meant to be a cleansing, rationalising exercise to ensure accuracy in the electoral rolls. But, in West Bengal, where citizenship and identity politics have been deeply polarised since 2019, the process is being interpreted through the lens of CAA implementation.
The Commission’s initial counter is clear, the SIR is a routine, legally mandated exercise, and no eligible voter will be deleted arbitrarily. Officials point out that every deletion must follow due process verification, notice to the elector, and opportunity for objections. They also emphasise that the CAA has not altered the Representation of the People Act norms governing voter registration.
Migrant fear: Being deleted before being recognised
The petitioners argue that CAA-protected migrants stand vulnerable precisely because the Union government has yet to complete the citizenship-granting process. West Bengal sees one of the highest concentrations of Hindu Bengali migrants from East Pakistan/Bangladesh, many of whom fall within the CAA’s ambit but have not received citizenship certificates.
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Their biggest fear is if SIR happens before CAA citizenship is granted, they may first lose their voter identity and get citizenship later, making the loss irreversible for the 2026 assembly election cycle. The timing, they argue, is not just unfortunate but discriminatory.
Supreme Court pushes for clarity
By issuing notice, the Supreme Court has effectively sought answers to a crucial policy overlap, can individuals awaiting citizenship under a central law be treated as doubtful voters during roll revision? And if yes, does that violate constitutional protections against disenfranchisement?
The judiciary’s intervention could compel both the Centre and the ECI to align on a protocol either by insulating such migrants from deletion until their CAA applications are processed, or by mandating special safeguards in the SIR.
According to the petition, the plea has sought direction to authorities to expedite the issuance of citizenship certificates in furtherance of the application seeking naturalization as a citizen of India under Section 5B of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 1955 in order to enable the applicants to submit information in the ongoing SIR verification process.
The second prayer says, “Grant extension of time for submission of information in the ongoing SIR verification process to the class of people who have applied for naturalization as a citizen of India under Section 6B of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 1955.”
The plea highlights that several applications for naturalisation by migrants, recognised as persecuted minorities who are eligible for Indian citizenship under the CAA, remain pending due to administrative delays.
The petition adds that many similarly placed individuals are waiting to apply for such citizenship under Section 6B through the online system established by the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024.
The PIL is filed on behalf of several persons who are covered by the Proviso to Section 2(1)(b) of the Citizenship Act, 1955. It is stated that these persons, being the persecuted minorities of the neighbouring countries, mostly belong to the weaker section of society. It is also stated that several persons have already applied under Section 6B for the grant of a certificate of registration or certificate of naturalisation, and several others are waiting to apply. These persons have been residing in India for several years, and their names are already appearing in the Electoral Roll of 2025.
“The delay in issuance of citizenship certificates, coupled with the non-recognition of acknowledgement receipts during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), has created a serious constitutional crisis. The affected persons, already recognized by Parliament as persecuted minorities of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who entered India deserving protection and integration, are now exposed to the risk of statelessness, social exclusion, and disenfranchisement,” the plea stated.
What lies ahead
The coming months will determine whether the Commission can maintain the integrity of the SIR without triggering a crisis of confidence among CAA-eligible migrant communities. The Supreme Court’s decision will likely set the contours for how citizenship-linked vulnerabilities should be treated within electoral processes.