'Mechanism For Inclusion Already Exists': Delhi High Court Rejects PIL Apprehending Exclusion Of Homeless, Displaced Persons In SIR
The Delhi High Court has dismissed PIL seeking directions to ensure the inclusion of homeless persons and those rendered homeless or displaced due to demolition drives in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the national capital.
In doing so the court noted that the Election Commission of India's Manual already provides for mechanism for determining the address of homeless persons.
A division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia in its order said:
"We are of the considered opinion that the Manual (on Electoral Rolls) already provides process for determination of the ordinary residence in accordance with the RP Act for homeless persons as per Clause 8.5 of the Manual. Therefore, the apprehension of the Petitioner that the homeless persons shall be excluded from the Draft Electoral Roll appears to be without any basis.
The Petitioner has made bald averments with regard to the exclusion of the persons, who have been rendered homeless due to demolition drive conducted in Delhi over the last several years. The Petitioner has also stated that prior to the last Assembly Elections held in Delhi, several homeless persons affected due to demolition drive were excluded from the Electoral Roll, however, the Petitioner does not mention any particulars or the numbers of the persons, who still remain excluded from the Electoral Roll subsequent to the last Assembly Elections in Delhi".
The court said that assuming that any elector has been excluded from the Electoral Roll on account of demolition or relocation from his existing place of ordinary residence, such person is entitled to fill up Form 6 issued by ECI under Rules 13(1) and 26 of Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
It said that the Manual on Electoral Rolls clearly provides that once the details are provided by homeless persons in Form 6, the BLO will visit the address given therein for more than one night to ascertain that the homeless person actually sleeps at the given place.
"Accordingly, the prayer for issuing direction to the ECI to formulate and implement special facilitative mechanism during the SIR exercise for NCT of Delhi for enrolment, or transposition and / or retention of the names of the homeless persons due to demolition drives to include them in the Electoral Roll, is not required to be granted in our considered view as such mechanism is already in place,"the court said.
It further said that the extract of Draft Electoral Roll placed on record by ECI, clearly showes the category of homeless persons with their name, age, gender and photograph, showing the house number as '0', clearly demonstrates that the poll body is "already implementing the process of inclusion" of homeless persons in the Draft Electoral Roll as provided in the Manual during the SIR exercise.
"In view of the above, we do not find any vacuum as alleged by the Petitioner given that the existing mechanism for inclusion of the names of the homeless persons is found to be adequate and being implemented by the ECI. Accordingly, none of the prayers sought in the present Petition deserves to be granted. As a result, the present Petition is dismissed," the court said.
The PIL sought directions to formulate and implement a special facilitative mechanism during the SIR exercise for Delhi for the enrolment, or transposition and/or retention of the names of homeless persons or rendered homeless or displaced by demolition drives to ensure that such persons are not excluded from the electoral rolls.
The PIL was dismissed.
Case title: INDU PRAKASH SINGH v/s GOVERNMENT OF THE NATIONAL CAPITAL TERRITORY OF DELHI AND ORS
W.P.(C) 11942/2026 & CM APPL. 55365/2026