Supreme Court Questions EC's 'Untrammelled Powers' in Voter Roll Revision

• The Supreme Court questioned the Election Commission's (EC) authority to deviate from its own rules and the Representation of the People (RP) Act for electoral roll preparation.
• A bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi stated the EC cannot act like an 'unruly horse' overriding civil rights, despite wide discretion.
• The legal challenge focuses on Section 21(3) of the RP Act, which allows special revision, but the court emphasized it's not 'unlimited' and must be 'just and fair'.
• Petitioners, including opposition parties and ADR, allege the EC is not following rules during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
• The court highlighted concerns over potential disenfranchisement due to changes in voter verification documents and the impact on 1.36 crore flagged voters in West Bengal.

Why It Matters: Supreme Court asserts EC's powers are not absolute, demanding adherence to rules for fair voter roll revision.