Big decision of Supreme Court: Citizenship will not be lost even if name is removed from voter list, benefits of government schemes will also continue.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has made it clear in an important decision that it is not the right of the Election Commission to decide citizenship. The bench of Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana said that the job of the Commission is only to control and supervise the voter list. If someone’s name is not in the voter list, it does not mean that his citizenship has been lost.

Supreme Court’s stance on welfare schemes

The court has agreed to hear the petition alleging that people whose names have been removed from the voter list are being deprived of the benefits of essential government schemes like PDS and Annapurna. The court made it clear that even after the Special Summary Revision (SIR) of the voter list in West Bengal, people will continue to be entitled to welfare schemes like subsidized ration.

Court’s comment on the functioning of the tribunal

During the hearing it emerged that there were delays and inconsistencies at the practical level in the way the 19 appellate tribunals functioned. The Supreme Court said that if a tribunal decides not to include someone’s name in the list, the Election Commission will have to refer the matter of citizenship determination to the concerned ministry. The next hearing of this case will now be on August 25.