Election Commission Addresses Allegations of Voter Disenfranchisement in Supreme Court

Election Commission's Defense Against Disenfranchisement Claims

The Election Commission has informed the Supreme Court that the claims regarding the special intensive revision of electoral rolls leading to widespread disenfranchisement are unfounded, as reported by a news outlet.

According to the commission, 95.6% of voters in Tamil Nadu and 99.7% in West Bengal have already received pre-filled enumeration forms. Out of these, 58.7% of the forms have been returned and digitized, as stated in their court submission.

This information was presented in affidavits responding to petitions that challenge the electoral roll revisions in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi is currently reviewing these petitions.

The court is set to examine Tamil Nadu's petition on December 4 and West Bengal's on December 9. Previously, it heard a petition from Kerala requesting a delay in the process, and the bench instructed the Election Commission to respond by December 1, with a follow-up hearing scheduled for December 2.

In its affidavits, the Election Commission refuted the Opposition's claims of up to 30% voter exclusion in West Bengal, asserting that the data on pre-filled forms and those returned indicates that the petitioners' assertions of errors and mass disenfranchisement are significantly overstated.

The Election Commission, empowered by the 1950 Representation of the People Act, has the authority to conduct a special revision of electoral rolls as deemed necessary. The commission highlighted that similar intensive revisions have been conducted in the past, notably in 2002, 2003, and 2004.

Notable demographic changes over the past two decades, including significant additions and removals from the electoral rolls, have been acknowledged, with urbanization and migration being common trends.

The current revision process is taking place across 12 states and Union Territories, with booth-level officers distributing enumeration forms since November 4.

In addition to Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, the electoral rolls are being revised in Kerala, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.

A separate 'special revision' of the voter list will occur in Assam, similar to the usual updates to the electoral roll.

Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Puducherry, and Assam are anticipated to hold Assembly elections in the first half of 2026.

In Bihar, where the revision was completed ahead of the Assembly elections in November, approximately 47 lakh voters were excluded from the final electoral roll published on September 30.

Concerns arose following the announcement in Bihar that the revision could disqualify eligible voters, prompting several petitioners to approach the Supreme Court.

Recently, the Election Commission announced an extension of one week for the revision timeline across all 12 states and Union Territories.

The deadline for submitting forms has been pushed to December 11 from December 4, with the draft electoral rolls now scheduled for publication on December 16 instead of December 9.

The final electoral rolls are expected to be published on February 14, revised from the initial date of February 7.