Supreme Court Steps In Over Delhi Voter List Removal Issue

The Supreme Court of India agreed to examine a plea regarding voters in Delhi whose names were removed during the Special Intensive Revision, leaving them to register again as first-time applicants. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant heard advocates Prashant Bhushan and Neha Rathi, who represented petitioners Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri.

Voter List Concerns

The lawyers told the court that voters seeking to put their names back on the list are being forced to declare they have never voted before, or risk facing jail time. Form 6 requires people to state they are applying for inclusion for the first time. Mr Bhushan suggested the Election Commission should let voters use Form 8 for shifted voters or make a brand new form instead. Because the deadline for claims was set for October 30, the Chief Justice moved the court hearing forward to October 28.

Scale Of Revision

During the revision phase in Delhi, 47,56,722 electors were left off the draft electoral roll under the categories of absent, shifted, dead, or duplicate. This number makes up 32.78 percent of all voters who were on the list before the revision began. The application stated that forcing previously registered voters to claim they are new applicants is factually incorrect and creates a major legal problem.

Legal Penalties

The petition noted that these voters face punishment for giving a false declaration under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, which can include up to a year in prison, a fine, or both. The plea also asked the court to strike down an additional declaration form introduced in the revision guidelines.

Context

Electoral rolls are updated periodically by election authorities to ensure accurate voter lists by removing entries for people who have moved, passed away, or are registered multiple times. Disputes during such revisions typically center on the administrative procedures used to handle legitimate voters whose details need updating rather than fresh registration.