The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Election Commission (EC) to devise a mechanism to reach out to voters whose names were omitted from Delhi’s draft electoral rolls during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), stressing that the right to vote could not be forfeited merely because an elector was absent or could not be contacted, PTI reported.
The bench, comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, questioned why previously enrolled voters whose names were missing from the draft rolls had to submit Form 6, meant for first-time enrolment, to seek inclusion.
The court also urged the EC not to be constrained by the existing timetable and to accept late enumeration forms from affected voters. The commission told the bench that it would consider accepting such forms and extending the October 30 deadline if necessary.
“The right to vote is a vital right. Your job is to act with due diligence. Let’s say the voter was amiss... will that be ground to forfeit the right forever?” Justice Bagchi asked, questioning how a voter omitted from the draft list could be required to file Form 6 to restore their name.
Chief Justice Surya Kant suggested that the EC publish a list of voters it had been unable to contact, along with details of their previous polling locations, and ask them to approach the nearest booth-level officer (BLO).
“You see how to reduce this gap of 43 lakh. We will take up after two weeks,” the CJI said, suggesting that the commission inform affected electors that it had been unable to contact them and explain how they could seek restoration of their names, according to PTI’s account of the proceedings.
The bench asked the EC to continue accepting Forms 6 and 8 and issue public notices clarifying the process for affected voters. It also asked the commission to explore ways to facilitate the re-enrolment of electors who may have been marked as shifted or absent despite not having been contacted during the enumeration exercise.
The observations came during a hearing on a petition filed by activists Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri, who sought a direction to the EC to make public the list of electors issued notices during the SIR, along with the specific reasons for each notice.
Appearing for the petitioners, advocate Prashant Bhushan said around 47 lakh voters had been omitted from Delhi’s draft electoral rolls, which covered approximately 1.45 crore electors before the revision, PTI reported.
The CJI pointed out that migration was common in metropolitan cities such as Delhi, where people frequently moved between localities for employment and other opportunities.
“Instead of burdening them that they will approach, why don’t you reach out to them?” he asked.
Senior advocate D S Naidu, appearing for the EC, said the omission of names at the draft-roll stage did not amount to final deletion and that eligible voters could still seek inclusion.
The CJI, however, said the process needed to account for electors who had moved temporarily or permanently, or who had not received enumeration forms at their previous addresses. The bench asked how the forms had been served and what provisions were available for those temporarily away from Delhi or unable to respond within the prescribed period.
Justice Bagchi also questioned whether the EC had adequately considered why some electors could not respond to enumeration forms, referring to Rule 13 of the relevant rules. The bench distinguished the exercise from verification against the 2003 electoral roll.
The EC told the court that it had conducted awareness camps and deployed thousands of BLOs, with booth-level agents of political parties also assisting in the exercise.
The bench asked the commission to develop a mechanism to establish whether affected electors had shifted permanently, were temporarily away or continued to reside in Delhi. It also suggested that the EC verify information submitted through Form 8 and seek supporting documents wherever necessary.
The court said it would take up the matter again after two weeks.
The EC published Delhi’s draft electoral rolls on August 31 following the SIR, reporting that around 47 lakh names had been omitted from a pre-revision electorate of approximately 1.45 crore.
(With inputs from PTI)
