Supreme Court Justice Calls Mass Voter Deletion Arbitrary
Justice Ujjal Bhuyan declared that mass disenfranchisement of Indian citizens is a negation of the constitutional order, sparking calls for the Chief Election Commissioner's resignation.
Supreme Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan declared that any process resulting in the mass disenfranchisement of millions of Indian citizens is intrinsically arbitrary and a negation of the constitutional order. Speaking at the 19th Justice Bodh Raj Sawhney Memorial Moot Court Competition at NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad, Bhuyan asserted that the right to vote is a constitutional right and part of the basic structure of the Constitution.
Bhuyan emphasized that under Section 22 of the Representation of the People Act, names cannot be deleted from electoral rolls without notice and a hearing, except for deceased voters. He warned that creating second-class citizens without voting rights violates Articles 14 and 326 of the Constitution, stating that the right to vote cannot be detached from citizenship.
These remarks follow controversy over the Election Commission of India's Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, which allegedly deleted over 130 million voters. Although the Supreme Court upheld the legality of the revision in May 2026, Bhuyan's comments prompted immediate political backlash. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh called for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, arguing he has lost the moral right to hold office. Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra praised the justice for speaking truth to power while serving on the bench.
