- Justice Bhuyan criticized electoral revisions depriving citizens of voting rights.
- He stated such disenfranchisement violates Articles 326 and 14.
- Voters’ names cannot be removed without notice and hearing.
Supreme Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Sunday (October 4, 2026) made strong remarks on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, saying any process that results in a large number of Indian citizens being deprived of their right to vote would be arbitrary and a direct violation of Articles 326 and 14 of the Constitution.
Justice Bhuyan made the remarks while addressing the valedictory ceremony of the 19th NALSAR Justice B.R. Sawhney Memorial Moot Court Competition at NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad.
He said, “If any process results in disenfranchising millions and millions of Indian citizens making them second class citizens in their own country in the sense of being citizens without voting rights, such a process is intrinsically arbitrary. No amount of whataboutery can justify it. It strikes at the very heart of the Constitution and I would go to the extent of saying that it is a negation of the constitutional order which we have adopted under the Constitution of India.”
‘Constitution Does Not Provide For Two Classes Of Citizens’
Justice Bhuyan said the Constitution does not divide citizens into two categories, one with the right to vote and another without it.
“The Indian Constitution does not provide for two classes of citizens: citizens with voting rights and citizens without voting rights. Any process which leads to wholesale disenfranchisement of Indian citizens making them citizens without voting rights would be violative of Articles 326 and 14 of the Indian Constitution,” he said.
He further said that taking away an Indian citizen’s right to vote or the right to be included in the electoral roll would be like separating the soul from the body.
“From the persona of an Indian citizen, the right to vote or right to be included in the voters list cannot be detached. It will be like taking out the soul from the body,” Justice Bhuyan said.
He added that no authority could do so and no court could condone such a process, saying, “No one is above the Constitution.”
What Justice Bhuyan Said
Justice Bhuyan also spoke about the deletion of voters’ names from electoral rolls.
He said that, except in the case of a deceased voter, once a voter’s name has been included in the electoral roll, it cannot be removed without giving the person notice and an opportunity of being heard.
“Except in the case of a dead voter, the name of a voter once enlisted in the electoral roll cannot be deleted without notice and hearing,” he said.
The Supreme Court judge also noted that the court has held in several judgments that the right to vote is not a fundamental right of a citizen. However, he said the court has recognised it as a constitutional right.
Justice Bhuyan said the right of an Indian citizen to vote is integral to the basic structure of the Constitution and forms the foundation of free and fair elections.
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