New Delhi: Strong concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI) have emerged from two senior judicial voices, former Supreme Court judge Justice Rohinton F. Nariman and incumbent Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan.
Justice Nariman, speaking in Rajkot, warned that the right to vote—the “heart” of democracy—was facing serious danger. Referring to the deletion of around 90 lakh names from electoral rolls in West Bengal during the SIR exercise, he questioned the functioning of the ECI and said such large-scale disenfranchisement should have prompted stronger judicial intervention.
He also criticised the existing system for appointing Election Commissioners, describing government control over their selection as a major constitutional concern. Nariman urged the Supreme Court to urgently decide the challenge to the 2023 law governing the appointment of the CEC and ECs.
Justice Bhuyan, meanwhile, said any process resulting in the disenfranchisement of millions of citizens would be “intrinsically arbitrary” and strike at the core of the Constitution. He stressed that the constitutional guarantee of adult suffrage could not be diluted and that no justification could legitimise the denial of voting rights to citizens.
The remarks come amid mounting scrutiny of the SIR exercise and allegations against CEC Gyanesh Kumar.