Plea In Supreme Court Seeks Regular Special Intensive Revision Of Electoral Rolls Before Every Election

BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay has filed a writ petition before the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Union and State governments to conduct Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls at regular intervals, particularly before Parliamentary, State Assembly, and Local Body Elections. The plea also seeks a direction to all States to take action against those who help infiltrators by providing fake documents.“it is the duty of Centre, State and ECI to conduct Special Intensive Revision of voter lists and give a strong message that India is determined to fight against illegal infiltration. Executive action should be taken to warn corrupt people who help infiltrators that betrayal of public trust will no longer be tolerated”, the petition states.Upadhyay mentioned the plea today before a bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Joymalya Bagchi seeking permission to serve it to the respondents and listing on July 10, along with petitions challenging the Special Intensive Revision of Bihar Electoral Roll.The bench, however, said that the Registry will decide on listing once the defects are cured. “Let the petitioner cure defects, and thereafter Registry to do the needful”, the Court ordered.Various petitions have been filed by opposition leaders as well as human rights organizations before the Supreme Court challenging the ECI's move to conduct “Special Intensive Revision” of the Electoral Rolls in Bihar, where the assembly elections are due a few months away.Upadhyay's petition, which seeks regular Special Intensive Revisions, specifically refers to Bihar, which has 243 Assembly constituencies. It claims that there are around 8,000 to 10,000 illegal, duplicate, or ghost entries in every constituency, and that discrepancies of even 2,000 to 3,000 votes can alter electoral outcomes. It refers to an earlier Special Intensive Revision conducted in Bihar in 2003 and submits that a new one is overdue due to urbanization, migration, and non-reporting of deaths.The writ petition has been filed through Advocate Ashwani Dubey and names the Union of India through the Ministries of Home and Law & Justice, the Election Commission, the governments of all states and union territories, and the Law Commission of India as respondents.The petitioner has sought that only Indian citizens be allowed to vote, alleging that illegal foreign infiltrators are influencing the country's polity and policy. The petition claims that the demography of 200 districts and 1500 tehsils has changed since Independence due to “massive illegal infiltration, deceitful religious conversion and population explosion.”The plea cites Article 324(1) of the Constitution, which grants ECI the power of superintendence, direction, and control of elections, and argues that accurate electoral rolls are necessary to ensure free and fair elections under Article 326. The petition relies on Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which provides for special revisions when the normal revision cycle is insufficient.The petition raises concerns about “illegal Pakistani, Afghanistani, Bangladeshi, and Rohingya infiltrators” allegedly causing dilution of legitimate votes and posing a threat to public confidence and national security. It claims that infiltrators can decisively influence election results, especially in close contests, and that margins of victory are often within a few hundred votes. The petitioner alleges that illegal infiltration is not just an immigration violation but also amounts to waging war against the Indian state, organized crime, and even treason.The plea states that infiltration has caused demographic disruption, created law enforcement challenges, and served as a cover for anti-national activities, including terrorism, smuggling, human trafficking, and sabotage. It contends that the state governments are not invoking provisions of the NSA against infiltrators and those who assist them.According to the petition, the current version of Forms 6 and 8 under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, do not seek information about the citizenship of applicants. It argues that verifying citizenship is a core requirement for the right to vote under Article 326 and the Representation of the People Act, 1951.The plea refers to a similar exercise in Assam in 1997, where door-to-door verification resulted in the marking of doubtful voters (D-voters), whose cases were referred to Foreigners Tribunals. The petition claims that this process included safeguards of natural justice.The plea argues that the Special Intensive Revision of Bihar Electoral Roll is necessary to ensure that only genuine citizens vote and that highlights the ECI has assured that no genuine voter will be removed from the list.The petition also claims that in the Seemanchal region of Bihar, there has been asymmetric population growth due to illegal immigration. It states that this region has a 47% Muslim population,...

Plea In Supreme Court Seeks Regular Special Intensive Revision Of Electoral Rolls Before Every Election

Amisha Shrivastava

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