Discuss the constitutional and statutory basis of the Election Commission's power to revise electoral rolls. What safeguards are needed against large-scale disenfranchisement?

The Supreme Court has called the electoral roll "the legal record" of India's political community [1]. The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has deleted about 13.3 crore names in States where it is complete [2]. This shows that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has wide power to revise rolls, and that the power needs equally strong safeguards.

Constitutional basis

• Art. 324: ECI has superintendence, direction and control over the preparation of electoral rolls [1].
• Art. 325: there is one general roll for each constituency, and no one can be excluded on grounds of religion, race, caste or sex [1].
• Art. 326: an elector must be a citizen, aged 18 or above, ordinarily resident in the constituency and not disqualified [3].

Statutory basis: RP Act, 1950 [4]

• Sec. 16 and 19 bar non-citizens from the roll and set the conditions for registration.
• Sec. 21 provides for preparation and revision of rolls. Sec. 21(3) lets ECI order a special revision at any time.
• Sec. 22–23 cover correction and inclusion. Under Sec. 23(4), Aadhaar may be used to establish identity.
• The Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 prescribe Form 6 for inclusion and Rule 21A for deletions.
• In ADR v. ECI (May 2026) the Supreme Court upheld SIR as proportionate and traceable to Sec. 21(3) read with Art. 324 [1]. ECI has now extended SIR to 16 States and 3 UTs [5].

Safeguards needed

• Presumption of inclusion: a person already on the roll is presumed valid, and any enquiry must start from that presumption [1].
• Due process: notice, a hearing and a reasoned order before any deletion under Rule 21A [1].
• Transparency: the Court made ECI share the list of about 65 lakh names left off Bihar's draft roll, with reasons [1]. This practice should cover every SIR State.
• Limits on citizenship checks: ECI cannot decide citizenship. Doubtful cases must be referred to the authority under the Citizenship Act and decided before the next election [1].
• Easier documentation: Aadhaar became the 12th accepted document [1], and BLOs must make at least 3 house visits [3].
• The State's duty to correct its errors: BLOs now compare the pre-SIR roll with the current roll and re-enrol left-out voters door to door [2]. Deadlines should depend on how many names a booth lost.
• Voters who have moved: when a voter is deleted as "shifted", their case should be passed on so they are enrolled at the new address, not left off every roll.

The Constitution and the RP Act clearly give ECI the power to revise rolls, and the Court has confirmed it. What matters now is how that power is used. Clean rolls and inclusive rolls can go together if deletions are transparent, follow due process and are open to correction. That would keep the promise of universal adult franchise under Art. 326, so that no eligible citizen is left out.