The Supreme Court will hear a critical plea on October 28 challenging the Election Commission’s requirement that previously enrolled Delhi voters use Form 6 to seek re-inclusion after the Special Intensive Revision. Advocate Prashant Bhushan brought the matter before a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, arguing that the current mechanism is factually inapplicable to electors whose names were already on the roll. The court, noting the urgency, advanced the hearing date from its original schedule to ensure a decision before the October 30 deadline for filing claims and objections.
The petition, filed by Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri, argues that forcing previously registered voters to declare they are applying for inclusion for the first time is a procedural hurdle that risks disenfranchisement. Bhushan stated that the EC must provide an appropriate mechanism for re-inclusion without this mismatched declaration. The bench indicated it was considering passing an order to address the issue, signaling judicial concern that the SIR process has become overly mechanical.
The SIR exercise in Delhi has already triggered a massive deletion of names. On August 31, the Election Commission published draft electoral rolls showing 47 lakh voters removed from the total list of 1.45 crore. The Commission cited shifting, absence, death, and multiple enrollments as grounds, with over 43.32 lakh voters marked as shifted or absent. The apex court had previously directed the EC on September 22 to clarify the criteria for 'logical discrepancies' and ensure safeguards, as notices were being issued almost mechanically.
The final voter list is slated for publication on December 4, but the window for claims and objections closes on October 30. Bhushan requested the hearing be held before this cutoff to prevent irreversible exclusion. The court’s intervention highlights the tension between electoral data hygiene and the right to vote, with the outcome potentially setting a precedent for future electoral roll revisions across India.