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Amidst the political turmoil across the country over the revision of voter lists (Special Intensive Revision – SIR) and alleged deletion of voters’ names on a large scale, a very strong and clear message has come out from the country’s top court. Current Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjwal Bhuyan, while addressing a legal conference, has bluntly said that any such system or administrative process, through which millions of Indian citizens are disenfranchised from their basic right to vote, is inherently arbitrary. Justice Bhuiyan made it clear that snatching away the collective franchise cannot be justified by any kind of arguments or excuses (whataboutery). His statement has come at such a critical time when the opposition, civil organizations and students are protesting on the streets from Jantar Mantar in Delhi to various states of the country regarding the functioning of the Election Commission and the voter list amendment.
Justice Ujjwal Bhuyan, outlining the philosophy of the Constitution, said that in a sovereign democratic republic, citizenship and the right to vote are inextricably linked and cannot be separated under any circumstances. He said that the Indian Constitution never envisages two types of citizens in the country—one those citizens who have the right to vote and the other those unfortunate citizens who have been deprived of this democratic power. Excluding any living Indian citizen from voting rights is practically equivalent to making him a ‘second class citizen’, which our constitutional system cannot accept at all. He stressed that no citizen can be discriminated against in the matter of voting on the basis of sex, race, religion, caste, property, education or social status, except in those very limited and legal exceptions which are pre-determined in the Constitution.
In his address, the Supreme Court judge, citing the dignity of the constitutional provisions, said that any arbitrary action that expels a large number of citizens from the voting list is a direct violation of Article 14 (right to equality) and Article 326 (adult franchise) of the Constitution. Giving a stern warning, he said, ‘Article 326 cannot be tampered with at any level. No authority or administrative institution of the country can do this, nor can any court of the country ever justify it. There is no person, institution or government above the Constitution of India. He underlined that the right of Indian citizens to vote is a sacred expression of India’s decades-long freedom struggle, countless struggles and immortal sacrifices against foreign rule. In such a situation, snatching away this historical right in the name of any Babusahi or technical process is a direct attack on the soul of democracy.
Justice Bhuiyan, while talking about the administrative aspects of the election process and voter list updating, described the principles of natural justice as paramount. He said that the name of any existing voter cannot be removed from the voter list unless he is given proper written notice and gets adequate opportunity to present his views. The only exception may be a situation where the official death of the voter has been registered. Apart from this, deleting the name of any citizen unilaterally without prior notice, physical verification and valid hearing is completely unconstitutional and against the law. Referring to the historical speeches given by Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar in the Constituent Assembly and the principles of eminent jurists, he reminded that fair elections are the cornerstone of India’s democratic structure.
This open and frank comment of Justice Bhuiyan has put the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and the entire election machinery in a huge moral and legal dilemma. Opposition leaders and civil rights organizations are continuously alleging that in the name of Special Intensive Revision (SIR), names of genuine voters were fraudulently struck off, due to which the voting rights of crores of citizens are at stake. Former judges, senior lawyers and human rights activists in many states have formed review committees and approached the Supreme Court against this move of the Election Commission. With a sitting judge of the apex court taking such a clear stand on the sanctity of universal suffrage, there is now immense pressure on the electoral system to make its processes 100% transparent, thoroughly review the deleted names and fix accountability.