Archive · 5 Oct 2026
Fali Nariman Urges Court Action Over Voter Exclusions
Former judge Rohinton Fali Nariman says the right to vote is in danger.
He wants the Supreme Court to look closely at voter-list changes and the Election Commission.
He said 90 lakh voters were left off West Bengal’s voter lists.
About 22 lakh of them appealed, and most of the roughly one lakh appeals decided were successful.
Nariman also questioned a law that gives the government a role in choosing election commissioners.
The Supreme Court has not yet settled a challenge to that law, after two judges disagreed.
Nariman referred to reports that two commissioners had objected to decisions made by the poll panel.
Separately, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said taking voting rights away from millions would violate the constitutional order.
Reports differ on how Nariman described the effect of the exclusions on West Bengal’s election outcome.
Former Supreme Court judge Rohinton Fali Nariman urged the Supreme Court to intervene over voter-list revisions and the Election Commission’s functioning.
Nariman said 90 lakh voters were disenfranchised in West Bengal; about 22 lakh appealed, and around one lakh appeals had been decided, 93% in voters’ favour.
He cited an Indian Express report that two Election Commissioners had objected to decisions alongside the Chief Election Commissioner on 14 occasions.
Nariman criticised the 2023 appointments law, which gives the selection panel the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and a Union minister nominated by the Prime Minister; a challenge is before a larger Supreme Court bench after a split verdict.
Separately, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said stripping millions of citizens of voting rights would violate the constitutional order; one report says around 13 crore names have been deleted in SIR exercises nationwide.
- Who
- Former Supreme Court judge Rohinton Fali Nariman; Justice Ujjal Bhuyan made separate remarks on voting rights.
- What
- Nariman urged Supreme Court intervention over voter exclusions, Election Commission functioning and the law governing election commissioner appointments.
- When
- Nariman spoke at an event in Rajkot on October 4; Bhuyan spoke separately on Sunday, with no date specified in the articles.
- Where
- Rajkot, India; Bhuyan’s separate remarks were delivered in Hyderabad.
- Why
- Nariman said voter exclusions and concerns about the Election Commission’s independence put the right to vote at risk.
Nariman’s concerns
Current process and reported responses
Election commissioner appointments
Nariman’s concerns
Nariman argued that the appointment panel should include the Chief Justice of India or a nominee to help ensure commissioners’ independence and impartiality.
Current process and reported responses
The 2023 law provides for a panel including the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and a Union minister nominated by the Prime Minister. The reports do not provide a substantive defence of this arrangement.
Voter-list exclusions
Nariman’s concerns
Nariman said the West Bengal exclusions and the share of decided appeals resolved in voters’ favour showed that voting rights were at risk and warranted Supreme Court intervention.
Current process and reported responses
The reports describe judicial consideration and monitoring of SIR-related challenges, but do not present a direct response to Nariman’s criticism. One report quotes a judge saying the court would step in if there were mass exclusion.
- Voters Nariman said were disenfranchised in West Bengal
- 90 lakh
- Voters who filed appeals
- About 22 lakh
- Appeals decided
- About one lakh
- Decided appeals in voters’ favour
- 93%
- Appointment panel under the 2023 law
- The Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and a Union minister nominated by the Prime Minister
- Election Commissioner objections cited by Nariman
- Two commissioners reportedly objected on 14 occasions
- Names deleted in SIR exercises nationwide
- Around 13 crore, according to one report
- Appointment-law challenge
- A two-judge Supreme Court bench split; the matter was referred to a larger bench, probably of five judges
Sources
After Ujjal Bhuyan, SC ex-judge Fali Nariman speaks up: ‘Can’t have an EC which malfunctions’
'Right to vote at great peril': SC ex-judge Justice Nariman on EC functioning
‘Can’t have Election Commission that malfunctions’: Ex-Supreme Court judge