Supreme Court Upholds 2002 Electoral Roll Cut-off in Sikkim Amid Controversy

The Supreme Court has endorsed the Election Commission of India's decision to maintain 2002 as the cut-off year for Sikkim's electoral roll revision. This decision comes after the petitioner group's request to consider 1993 was dismissed, citing no complaints from regional political parties.

The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the Election Commission of India's (ECI) decision to use 2002 as the cut-off year for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Sikkim, dismissing a plea to consider 1993 instead.

A petition from the Sikkimese Mulniwasi Surakcha Sangh claimed that the 2002 electoral roll revision included migrant populations, urging for the older 1993 records to be treated as the base year. However, the bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant questioned the organization's standing, noting no objections from Sikkim's political parties regarding the cut-off year.

The court sided with the Election Commission, which argued that the 2002 decision was consistent nationwide and altering it at this stage would disrupt the process. Encouraging the petitioner to discuss concerns with the state government, the court declined to interfere further.