Syllabus: 

GS2: Salient Features of the Representation of People’s Act.

Context: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has initiated a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar. 

More on the News

• This has kindled the debate around the term ‘ordinarily resident’ to be included in the electoral rolls of a constituency. 
• The ‘ordinarily resident’ requirement ensures voters have genuine ties to a constituency, upholding accountability and preventing fraudulent registrations.
• The Representation of People Act provides the option to service voters, persons holding a declared office and NRIs to retain the vote in their constituency even though they may not be permanently residing in such a place. 

Ordinarily resident 

• Section 19 Representation of the People Act, 1950: It requires that a person be ordinarily resident in a constituency for inclusion in its electoral roll.
• Section 20 Representation of the People Act, 1950: It provides the meaning of the term ‘ordinarily resident’. It specifies that a person shall not be deemed to be ‘ordinarily resident’ in a constituency only because he/she owns or possesses a dwelling house therein. However, a person temporarily absent from his/her place of residence shall continue to be ‘ordinarily resident’ therein.
  Persons who are: 
   Members of armed forces of the Union,
   Armed police force of a State serving outside that State,
   Employed by the Government of India in a post outside India or
   Holding a constitutional office declared by the President in consultation with the EC are considered, along with their spouse, to be ‘ordinarily resident’ in the constituency where they         would have been ‘ordinarily resident’ but for such posting. 
• Section 20A Representation of the People Act, 1950: It was added in 2010 to enable non-resident Indians who have shifted out of India, even for the long term, to register and vote in the constituency in which their address as per passport is located.
• The Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 (RER): It is notified by the Central government in consultation with the EC, and governs the preparation of, and inclusion/exclusion of names in the electoral rolls as per the provisions of the Representation of the People Act.

Potential Issues 

• Manmohan Singh case (1999): The Gauhati High Court in the Manmohan Singh case (1999), indicated that the term ‘ordinarily resident’ shall mean a habitual resident of that place. 
• It must be permanent in character and not temporary or casual.
  It must be a place where the person has the intention to dwell permanently.
  A reasonable man must accept him/her as a resident of that place.
• Issue of Migrant workers: 
  The Periodic Labour Force Survey of 2020-21 estimated that around 11% of our population migrated due to employment-related reasons. This translates to close to 15 crore voters being migrant labourers within or outside their States.
  Many migrant workers, like those in construction or security, live in temporary housing and move for work but return seasonally to their home, where families and property are based.
    Courts consider such homes to meet the ‘ordinarily resident’ requirement for voting.
  Any migrant has the right to shift his/her vote to their new place of residence anywhere in India if they so desire.
  The removal of migrant voters from the electoral roll of their original residence by following a strict interpretation of the term ‘ordinarily resident’ can vitiate the democratic process.
  It may result in their disenfranchisement as most of them would not be keen, and neither welcome, to register as voters in their temporary place of work. 

Way Forward 

• The Representation of People Act or the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 may be suitably amended to preserve the choice of migrant labourers. 
• Suitable mechanisms, acceptable to all stakeholders, to enable participation of migrant labourers in the elections should be explored. 
• The issue of migrants enrolling more than once in different constituencies should be addressed separately through Aadhaar seeding.

Source: The Hindu

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/who-are-qualified-as-ordinarily-resident-explained/article69808287.ece#:~:text=The%20Gauhati%20High%20Court%20in,the%20intention%20to%20dwell%20permanently