Can you punish laxity by forfeiting the right to vote forever, Supreme Court asks ECI
Form 6 is ‘cast in stone’ and cannot be changed, says SC, adding that the Bihar judgment is not a binding precedent and that it allowed ‘logical discrepancy’ in West Bengal as an ‘interim arrangement’; top court tells ECI to extend Delhi SIR
The Supreme Court on October 28, 2026, questioned the Election Commission of India's (ECI) authority to permanently strip citizens of their voting rights simply for failing to return enumeration forms during the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which has disenfranchised nearly 13 crore voters across the nation.
Speaking on behalf of the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi posed the question, "Let us say a voter was lax, inert or did not respond, will that be a ground for you, the Election Commission of India, to forfeit his or her right to vote forever?" During the hearing, the court clarified it was not reviewing the 'logical discrepancy' in the Bihar SIR case.
Petitioners Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri argued that the ECI was forcing voters to misrepresent themselves as new applicants, an offense punishable by imprisonment. Senior advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, representing the ECI, stated that the court's earlier judgment in Bihar SIR did not grant the commission residuary powers to address the issue.
The court also clarified that the Bihar judgment was not a binding precedent, as it had not adjudicated on the legality of 'logical discrepancy'. Justice Bagchi emphasized that the ECI should have reached out to voters who had not responded to enumeration forms, offering them a chance to explain their non-response. Additionally, the court questioned the ECI's approach, asking if a person who temporarily moved out of Delhi for work could be considered permanently shifted.
The court asked whether voters could continue to be included in the electoral roll after the final list was published, rather than during the draft stage. The ECI responded by introducing an additional declaration form in addition to Form 6, requiring voters to provide details of their previous electoral roll entries or those of their parents or grandparents. The court expressed concerns over the ECI's timeline and suggested keeping the deadline open-ended.
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