Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Deep rot: On the Election Commission of India’s functioning during its SIR

Deep rot: On the Election Commission of India’s functioning during its SIR

With the SIR thoroughly (पूरी तरह, पूर्णतः) vitiated (दूषित, खराब), CEC Gyanesh Kumar must resign (इस्तीफा देना, पद से त्यागपत्र देना)

The investigation (जाँच, छानबीन) by The Indian Express into the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) (भारत निर्वाचन आयोग) functioning during its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) (विशेष गहन पुनरीक्षण) shows that the disquiet over what transpired under Chief Election Commissioner (मुख्य निर्वाचन आयुक्त) Gyanesh Kumar’s watch is not limited (सीमित) to civil society (नागरिक समाज), the media (संचार माध्यम) and the Opposition (विपक्ष). It ran through the ECI itself, as Election Commissioners (EC) (निर्वाचन आयुक्त) Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected (to express disapproval or opposition; protest, oppose, challenge, dissent) on record (officially noted, documented, or stated publicly; documented, official, written down, chronicled) at least (minimally, not less than, at the minimum, no fewer than) 14 times between October 2025 and August 2026 to decisions, many of which, they said, were taken without their knowledge. Their dissent mirrors what many have long said about the SIR. In May, Mr. Joshi had warned that Form 6 (An official application form provided by the Election Commission of India used for the registration of new voters or inclusion of names in the electoral roll), the application for new electors (voter, constituent, enfranchised person), could not be altered without the government amending the rules. Yet (nevertheless, however, still, despite that), in July, the form contained (include, hold, enclose, incorporate) questions on whether (if, in case, supposing, provided) the applicants (a person who formally applies for something; candidate, claimant, petitioner, seeker) or their parents or grandparents figured in (appear or be included in something; appear in, be listed in, be included in) the “electoral roll of the last (previous, preceding) SIR”, which Mr. Sandhu called “unauthorised (not having official permission or approval; unofficial, unapproved, uncertified, unlawful) and illegal”. The ECs also flagged the centralisation of the electoral roll (voter list) database, sought an audit (an official inspection, examination, scrutiny, review), and recorded (document, note, log, register) that field officials (an officer or employee who works on the ground rather than at a central office; ground worker, on-site officer, local representative, regional officer, field officer) lacked (to be without or deficient in something; miss, require, need, be short of) complete access (full access, unrestricted access, total availability/entry, unrestricted use) to the ERONet (A centralized web-based portal developed by the Election Commission of India for electoral roll management, enabling online processing of forms and maintaining the nationwide voter database) portal. This mirrors what local election officials (officer, executive, functionary, bureaucrat) had complained of (to state that one is unhappy or dissatisfied with something; object to, protest about, grumble about, bemoan): that many of the changes in the rolls were done at the central database (a main, structured set of data held in a centralized computer system; primary repository, main archive, central registry, core directory) level overriding (to use one’s authority to reject, cancel, or bypass a decision or process; overrule, countermand, veto, overturn) Electoral Registration Officers, the statutory authority on voters’ eligibility.

The consequences of the anomalies in the ECI’s decision-making and its functioning were the deepest in West Bengal. About 60 lakh electors were flagged for software-generated (computer-generated) “logical discrepancies (a lack of compatibility or similarity between logical facts or data points; inconsistency, variance, divergence, disparity)” — many were dubious (doubtful, questionable, suspicious, uncertain) — and 27 lakh names were deleted. Of the 38 lakh appeals (application, plea, petition, request) pending (awaiting decision or settlement; unresolved, undecided, unsettled, ongoing) before tribunals (a body established to settle certain types of dispute or to adjudicate on a particular matter; board, panel, court, committee), 16.1 lakh were by those seeking to remove voters whom judicial officers (a person legally empowered to preside over a court or adjudicatory proceeding; judge, magistrate, justice, adjudicator) had included; Mr. Sandhu’s question of who authorised (to give official permission for or approval to an action; empower, mandate, permit, sanction) filing them on the ECI’s behalf remains unanswered. Meanwhile, over nine in 10 appeals against deletion decided so far have restored the electors, which suggests (indicate, point to, imply, signify) that the exercise (activity, process, operation, task) struck off lakhs of genuine (authentic, real, actual, valid) voters before the West Bengal elections. The Hindu’s analysis also revealed (disclose, unveil, uncover, expose) that 24 of the 70 seats in Delhi now have fewer (a smaller number of persons or things) electors in draft rolls (a preliminary version of the voter list that is published for public review and for inviting claims and objections before finalisation; preliminary register, provisional voter list) than those who actually voted just a year and a half ago. On Wednesday, Justice Dipankar Datta, as part of a two-judge Bench (A judge or a collective panel of judges presiding over a court of law to hear and decide legal cases; panel, tribunal, judicatory, court), held in his opinion that the 2023 Act’s replacement of the CJI, whom the Anoop Baranwal judgment (a Supreme Court of India judgment in Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India, delivered by a five-judge Constitution Bench on March 2, 2023, which directed that, until Parliament enacted a law, the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners should be appointed by the President on the recommendation of a three-member committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha (or the leader of the largest opposition party where no Leader of Opposition is recognised), and the Chief Justice of India) had placed on the selection panel (selection committee, appointment board), with a Union Minister, fails the “perception test”. It was this panel (committee, board, commission) that chose Mr. Kumar as CEC. Regrettably (unfortunately, sadly, unhappily, disappointingly), the Supreme Court had earlier upheld the SIR without adequately (sufficiently, suitably, appropriately, reasonably) confronting (to face up to and deal with a problem or difficult situation; tackle, face, address, handle) its design (intention; framework, blueprint, structure, configuration), which deletes electors before verification and places the burden of proving eligibility on the citizen rather than the state, thereby defeating (to prevent an aim or constitutional right from being achieved; thwart, frustrate, ruin, foil) the constitutional guarantee (constitutional right, statutory assurance, fundamental protection) of universal adult franchise (the right of all adult citizens to vote in elections regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, or ethnicity; universal suffrage, general voting rights, common enfranchisement, universal voting). Mr. Kumar must resign and the Court must halt (stop, cease, pause, suspend) further deletions until the roll database is audited (inspect, examine, verify, review). Anything less (any action or measure that falls short of a specified requirement; any lesser action, falling short, a compromised measure, inadequate step) will be a defeat (loss, failure, downfall, collapse) for India’s democracy (a constitutional system of government in which political authority ultimately derives from the people and is exercised through elected representatives, with political equality, universal adult suffrage, and constitutional guarantees of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity; popular government, representative government, self-government, popular rule, self-rule).

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.deep (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - गहरा, गंभीर
English Meaning - very intense or extreme; profound, serious, grave, intense, extreme.

2.rot (noun)

Hindi Meaning - सड़न, क्षय
English Meaning - decay, corruption, or systemic decline within an institution or organization; decay, corruption, deterioration, decline, degeneration, impairment.

3.Special Intensive Revision (SIR) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विशेष गहन पुनरीक्षण
English Meaning - an official process undertaken by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to comprehensively update and revise electoral rolls, specifically targeting the inclusion of newly eligible voters, removal of ineligible names, and correction of existing details before elections.

4.thoroughly (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - पूरी तरह, पूर्णतः
English Meaning - completely, fully, and in every respect; completely, fully, entirely, absolutely, comprehensively.

5.vitiated (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - दूषित, खराब
English Meaning - completely spoiled, impaired, ruined, marred, invalidated, compromised, undermined.

6.Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मुख्य निर्वाचन आयुक्त
English Meaning - the head of the Election Commission of India, appointed by the President under Article 324. (Until the statutory procedure introduced in 2023, there was no constitutionally prescribed Selection Committee; appointments were made by the President on the advice of the Union executive. Following the Supreme Court’s Anoop Baranwal judgment of March 2, 2023, an interim selection committee comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition and Chief Justice of India was prescribed until Parliament enacted a law. The 2023 Act, effective from January 2, 2024, established the present Selection Committee comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister.)

7.resign (verb)

Hindi Meaning - इस्तीफा देना, पद से त्यागपत्र देना
English Meaning - to voluntarily leave a job or office; step down, quit, abdicate, relinquish.

8.investigation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - जाँच, छानबीन
English Meaning - a formal inquiry or systematic study; probe, scrutiny, examination, inspection.

9.Election Commission of India (ECI) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - भारत निर्वाचन आयोग
English Meaning - A permanent, autonomous constitutional body established on 25 January 1950 under Article 324 of the Constitution to administer and ensure free and fair elections to the Parliament, State Legislatures, and the offices of the President and Vice-President.

10.under someone’s watch (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - किसी की निगरानी में
English Meaning - while someone is responsible for supervising, overseeing, or controlling something; under someone’s supervision, under someone’s oversight, during someone’s tenure, while in someone’s care.

11.limited (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - सीमित
English Meaning - restricted, confined, bounded, narrow.

12.civil society (noun)

Hindi Meaning - नागरिक समाज
English Meaning - non-governmental organizations and institutions that manifest the interests of citizens; citizenry, community, public, masses.

13.media (noun)

Hindi Meaning - संचार माध्यम
English Meaning - the main means of mass communication considered collectively; press, journalism, news outlets.

14.Opposition (proper noun)

Hindi Meaning - विपक्ष
English Meaning - the major political party or group of parties forming the primary opposition to the government in power.

15.Election Commissioner (EC) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - निर्वाचन आयुक्त
English Meaning - A constitutional authority appointed under Article 324 to the Election Commission of India, responsible alongside the Chief Election Commissioner for the administration of Union and State election processes.

16.object (verb)

English Meaning - to express disapproval or opposition; protest, oppose, challenge, dissent.

17.on record (phrase)

English Meaning - officially noted, documented, or stated publicly; documented, official, written down, chronicled.

18.at least (phrase)

English Meaning - minimally, not less than, at the minimum, no fewer than.

19.deep rot (phrase)

English Meaning - a condition of serious and deeply rooted decay or corruption; deep corruption, severe decay, systemic malaise, profound deterioration.

20.run through (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - to pervade or be present in every part of something; pervade, permeate, penetrate, spread through.

21.Form 6 (proper noun)

English Meaning - An official application form provided by the Election Commission of India used for the registration of new voters or inclusion of names in the electoral roll.

22.elector (noun)

English Meaning - voter, constituent, enfranchised person.

23.yet (adverb)

English Meaning - nevertheless, however, still, despite that.

24.contain (verb)

English Meaning - include, hold, enclose, incorporate.

25.whether (conjunction)

English Meaning - if, in case, supposing, provided.

26.applicant (noun)

English Meaning - a person who formally applies for something; candidate, claimant, petitioner, seeker.

27.figure in (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - appear or be included in something; appear in, be listed in, be included in.

28.electoral roll (noun)

English Meaning - voter list.

29.last (adjective)

English Meaning - previous, preceding.

30.unauthorised (adjective)

English Meaning - not having official permission or approval; unofficial, unapproved, uncertified, unlawful.

31.audit (noun)

English Meaning - an official inspection, examination, scrutiny, review.

32.record (verb)

English Meaning - document, note, log, register.

33.field official (noun)

English Meaning - an officer or employee who works on the ground rather than at a central office; ground worker, on-site officer, local representative, regional officer, field officer.

34.lack (verb)

English Meaning - to be without or deficient in something; miss, require, need, be short of.

35.complete access (noun)

English Meaning - full access, unrestricted access, total availability/entry, unrestricted use.

36.ERONet (proper noun)

English Meaning - A centralized web-based portal developed by the Election Commission of India for electoral roll management, enabling online processing of forms and maintaining the nationwide voter database.

37.official (noun)

English Meaning - officer, executive, functionary, bureaucrat.

38.complain of (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - to state that one is unhappy or dissatisfied with something; object to, protest about, grumble about, bemoan.

39.central database (noun)

English Meaning - a main, structured set of data held in a centralized computer system; primary repository, main archive, central registry, core directory.

40.override (verb)

English Meaning - to use one’s authority to reject, cancel, or bypass a decision or process; overrule, countermand, veto, overturn.

41.software-generated (adjective)

English Meaning - computer-generated.

42.logical discrepancy (noun)

English Meaning - a lack of compatibility or similarity between logical facts or data points; inconsistency, variance, divergence, disparity.

43.dubious (adjective)

English Meaning - doubtful, questionable, suspicious, uncertain.

44.appeal (noun)

English Meaning - application, plea, petition, request.

45.pending (adjective)

English Meaning - awaiting decision or settlement; unresolved, undecided, unsettled, ongoing.

46.tribunal (noun)

English Meaning - a body established to settle certain types of dispute or to adjudicate on a particular matter; board, panel, court, committee.

47.appellate tribunal (noun)

English Meaning - a quasi-judicial body or court that hears appeals against the decisions of lower authorities or lower courts; appeals court, reviewing body, appellate court, appellate body. (A quasi-judicial body is a body, such as a tribunal, commission, or administrative authority, that is not a regular court but has certain judicial-like powers and functions, including hearing disputes and making decisions under the law. Examples in India include the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) and National Green Tribunal (NGT); the Election Commission of India (ECI) also exercises quasi-judicial functions in specified matters). (“quasi” meaning “as if” or “seemingly”).

48.judicial officer (noun)

English Meaning - a person legally empowered to preside over a court or adjudicatory proceeding; judge, magistrate, justice, adjudicator.

49.authorise (verb)

English Meaning - to give official permission for or approval to an action; empower, mandate, permit, sanction.

50.on someone’s behalf (phrase)

English Meaning - acting for or representing someone; representing someone, for someone, in the name of, as a spokesperson for, for the benefit of.

51.suggest (verb)

English Meaning - indicate, point to, imply, signify.

52.exercise (noun)

English Meaning - activity, process, operation, task.

53.strike off (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - to remove a name from an official list or register; remove, delete, erase, cancel.

54.genuine (adjective)

English Meaning - authentic, real, actual, valid.

55.reveal (verb)

English Meaning - disclose, unveil, uncover, expose.

56.fewer (adjective)

English Meaning - a smaller number of persons or things.

57.draft (adjective)

English Meaning - preliminary, provisional, unfinalized, rough.

58.draft roll (noun)

English Meaning - a preliminary version of the voter list that is published for public review and for inviting claims and objections before finalisation; preliminary register, provisional voter list.

59.Bench (noun)

English Meaning - A judge or a collective panel of judges presiding over a court of law to hear and decide legal cases; panel, tribunal, judicatory, court.

60.Constitution Bench (noun)

English Meaning - A specialized panel of the Supreme Court of India consisting of five or more judges. Set up under Article 145(3) of the Constitution, these benches are an exceptional, non-routine measure. They are constituted by the Chief Justice of India only to resolve a substantial question of constitutional law, or when two benches of differing sizes deliver conflicting judgments on the same issue.

61.Chief Justice of India (CJI) (noun)

English Meaning - the head of the judiciary of India and the presiding judge of the Supreme Court of India.

62.Anoop Baranwal judgment (noun)

English Meaning - a Supreme Court of India judgment in Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India, delivered by a five-judge Constitution Bench on March 2, 2023, which directed that, until Parliament enacted a law, the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners should be appointed by the President on the recommendation of a three-member committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha (or the leader of the largest opposition party where no Leader of Opposition is recognised), and the Chief Justice of India.

63.selection panel (noun)

English Meaning - selection committee, appointment board.

64.perception test (noun)

English Meaning - an evaluation of how something is viewed, understood, or trusted by the public; public view test, public-confidence test, public opinion check, image assessment, credibility test.

65.panel (noun)

English Meaning - committee, board, commission.

66.regrettably (adverb)

English Meaning - unfortunately, sadly, unhappily, disappointingly.

67.uphold (verb)

English Meaning - maintain, sustain, support, endorse.

68.adequately (adverb)

English Meaning - sufficiently, suitably, appropriately, reasonably.

69.confront (verb)

English Meaning - to face up to and deal with a problem or difficult situation; tackle, face, address, handle.

70.design (noun)

English Meaning - intention; framework, blueprint, structure, configuration.

71.defeat (verb)

English Meaning - to prevent an aim or constitutional right from being achieved; thwart, frustrate, ruin, foil.

72.constitutional guarantee (noun)

English Meaning - constitutional right, statutory assurance, fundamental protection.

73.universal adult franchise (noun)

English Meaning - the right of all adult citizens to vote in elections regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, or ethnicity; universal suffrage, general voting rights, common enfranchisement, universal voting.

74.halt (verb)

English Meaning - stop, cease, pause, suspend.

75.audit (verb)

English Meaning - inspect, examine, verify, review.

76.anything less (phrase)

English Meaning - any action or measure that falls short of a specified requirement; any lesser action, falling short, a compromised measure, inadequate step.

77.defeat (noun)

English Meaning - loss, failure, downfall, collapse.

78.democracy (noun)

English Meaning - a constitutional system of government in which political authority ultimately derives from the people and is exercised through elected representatives, with political equality, universal adult suffrage, and constitutional guarantees of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity; popular government, representative government, self-government, popular rule, self-rule.