New Delhi, Jan. 14 -- The Election Commission of India (ECI) told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that its power to determine citizenship as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is only for the purpose of electoral rolls and does not cross paths with the Centre, which has the authority for deportation.

Responding to a key argument in a clutch of petitions against the SIR that ECI has no role to decide citizenship, the poll panel cited before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant several provisions of the Constitution where the power to determine citizenship is vested with other constitutional authorities, besides the Union government.

"The ECI is vested with the purpose of verifying if a person is a citizen only...