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Supreme Court Justices Warn Voter Roll Revision Risks Disenfranchisement
Two senior legal figures raised concerns about changes to voter lists.
Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said people should not lose their names from the list without being told and given a chance to respond.
He said removing many citizens could conflict with the Constitution.
Former judge Rohinton Fali Nariman also questioned the way voter-list changes and election appointments are handled.
He cited figures for voters removed in West Bengal and appeals to have names restored.
Nariman said many of the appeals that had been decided went in favour of voters.
He also wants the Supreme Court to review a law about choosing election commissioners.
Protests over the Election Commission and the voter-list revision are taking place in several parts of India.
Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said voter deletions without notice and a hearing are intrinsically arbitrary.
Bhuyan argued that wholesale disenfranchisement would violate constitutional protections under Articles 326 and 14.
Former Supreme Court judge Rohinton Fali Nariman raised concerns about reported voter deletions and the Election Commission’s functioning.
Nariman cited 90 lakh voters excluded in West Bengal and said 22.2 lakh appealed to be added back; he said about one lakh appeals were decided 93% in voters’ favour.
Nariman urged the Supreme Court to decide challenges to the 2023 law governing appointments of election commissioners.
- Who
- Supreme Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and former Supreme Court judge Rohinton Fali Nariman.
- What
- They raised concerns about voter deletions during the special intensive revision and about the law governing election commissioner appointments.
- Where
- Bhuyan spoke at the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research in Hyderabad; Nariman’s speaking location is not stated.
- When
- The remarks were made on Sunday; the article also refers to a Supreme Court referral on September 23.
- Why
- They said voter deletions may disenfranchise citizens and raised concerns about the Election Commission’s functioning and appointments.
Key facts
- Voter-roll exercise
- Special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls
- Constitutional provisions cited
- Articles 326 and 14
- West Bengal exclusions cited by Nariman
- 90 lakh voters
- Appeals cited by Nariman
- 22.2 lakh people appealed to be added back
- Appeal decisions cited
- About one lakh appeals had been decided, with 93% decided in voters’ favour, according to Nariman
- Appointment law
- The 2023 Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office Act
- Selection committee under the Act
- The prime minister, a Union Cabinet minister and the Lok Sabha leader of the Opposition
Quotes
Rohinton Fali Nariman
Former Supreme Court judge commenting on voter removals and the Election Commission
“Election Commission cannot malfunction like this.”
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“No amount of whataboutery can justify it.”
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Sources
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