"Clean electoral rolls are essential, but not at the cost of inclusive franchise." Critically examine this in the context of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

The Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) draws on Article 324 and Section 21(3) of the RP Act, 1950 [2]. It has removed about 13 crore names nationwide [1]. The statement largely holds. Accurate rolls are needed for free elections, but excluding genuine voters undermines universal adult franchise (Art. 326).

Why clean rolls matter

• Legal backing: in May 2026 the Supreme Court upheld the Bihar SIR as proportionate and aimed at the "accuracy, completeness and integrity" of rolls [2].
• Electoral integrity: dead, shifted and duplicate entries make impersonation possible. Bihar's roll fell from 7.89 crore to about 7.42 crore electors [3].
• Eligibility check: the ECI may hold a limited enquiry into citizenship, but only for electoral purposes [2].

Where inclusion suffers

• Errors at scale: about 65 lakh names were left off Bihar's draft roll because enumeration forms were not submitted [3]. Removals at that first stage overstate how many voters are truly ineligible.
• Burden of proof: the Court held that the presumption arising from existing enrolment (Lal Babu Hussein) is rebuttable [2]. In practice the onus moves to voters who have few documents.
• Vulnerable groups: an open letter from scientists warns that deletions hit the poor, migrants and marginalised hardest. It also says the safeguards for restoring names are weak [1].
• Loss of trust: there have been mass protests and calls to remove the CEC. The ECI has ordered fresh verification in Delhi and other States [1].
• Burden on remedies: in West Bengal, over 34 lakh appeals went to Appellate Tribunals that the Court itself set up [4].

Balancing the two goals

• Judicial oversight: judicial officers and tribunals decided claims following natural justice [4].
• Timely remedy: appeals that succeed are added through a supplementary roll before polling day [4].
• Due process on citizenship: doubtful cases must go to the competent authority under the Citizenship Act. Deletions remain subject to that authority's decision [2].
• Easier claims: Aadhaar must be accepted [2]. Random field audits of deleted names would also give a credible error rate.

Clean rolls and inclusive franchise do not conflict. A revision gains legitimacy from the eligible voters it keeps as much as from the ineligible ones it removes. SIR should be reformed rather than scrapped. It needs published deletion lists, easy ways to file claims and independent audits. That would uphold Articles 325–326 and the ECI's own ideal that no voter is left behind.