FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW Assam Assembly passes UCC Bill; CM Sarma says implementation in 6 months Strategic architecture WORLD Trump to chair Cabinet meeting on Iran war Page 8 Page 6 Page 9 SC backs SIR; ECI can examine citizenship PARMOD KUMAR New Delhi, 27 May T he Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the constitutional validity of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls carried out by the Election Commission of India, starting with Bihar and later extended to 12 States and Union Territories, holding that it is well within the powers of the poll panel to undertake such an exercise and that it advances the constitutional goal of free and fair elections. Holding that the SIR exercise could not be invalidated merely because it did not conform in every respect to the ordinary modalities contemplated for revision under Section 21(2) of the Representation of the People Act read with Rule 25, a Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi Senior advocate Ashwini Upadhyay addresses the media after the Supreme Court’s verdict on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) issue in New Delhi on Wednesday. AGENCIES said that the revision of electoral rolls does not violate the Act and instead “breathes life into the constitutional mandate of Article 324 through the precise statutory conduit provided by Section 21(3).” On the contentious issue of whether the Election Commission could engage itself in SILIGURI | Thursday, 28 May 2026 SPORTS NATION EDITORIAL PAGE | ascertaining the citizenship of a person for inclusion in the voters’ list, the judgment said: “The Commission is empowered, in the exercise of its constitutional mandate, to undertake a limited enquiry into citizenship for the purpose of satisfying itself as to eligibility for inclusion in the electoral roll. Such an enquiry does not amount to a determination of citizenship in the strict sense, and any action taken pursuant thereto is confined to electoral consequences alone.” The Court further said: “The consequence of such a determination is correspondingly limited. It affects the individual’s entitlement to be included in the electoral roll, and thereby their right to participate in the electoral process. It does not, however, operate to divest the individual of claims of citizenship, nor does it foreclose a determination of that question by the Competent Authority under the Citizenship Act.” CM Suvendu rolls out Annapurna Yojana form from Nabanna STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Kolkata, 27 May Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday announced the rollout of the application form for the Annapurna Yojana, the proposed government welfare scheme aimed at providing Rs 3,000 per month to women beneficiaries in the state. The initiative, which is expected to involve a large-scale verification and registration process across the state, was introduced amid discussions over the continuation and transition from the existing Lakshmir Bhandar scheme At a Press conference on Wednesday, Mr Adhikari described the Annapurna Yojana as a major welfare initiative targeted at women across the state. He said that the process will be coordinated through the Women and Child Welfare Department under the supervision of Minister Agnimitra Paul. He said that nearly 30 lakh individuals whose names have been removed from the voter list and who did not approach the tribunals for correction are currently receiving benefits under the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme but they will not be covered by the Annapurna Yojna scheme. “The women who have applied for CAA or whose names are under consideration of the SIR tribunal will get the benefit of Annapurna Yojna,” he added. The Chief Minister also said that women who are not citizens or those who pay Income Tax will not be considered for the scheme. French Open: Jannik Sinner brushes past Clement Tabur in opener Page 12