Hyderabad, Feb. 15 -- The conduct of elections in India is constitutionally entrusted to the Election Commission of India (ECI) under Article 324 of the Constitution. This power, described as plenary in form, has nonetheless been repeatedly characterised by the Supreme Court as fiduciary, structured, and subject to constitutional discipline.

Recent investigative findings published by The Reporters' Collective (February 8, 2026) concerning the ECI's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal raise foundational questions about the conversion of procedural authority into substantive control, and about the judiciary's role when credible material suggests systemic deviation from statutory and constitutional norms.

The...