Discuss the constitutional and statutory basis of the Election Commission's power to conduct intensive revision of rolls, and the safeguards needed to prevent the disenfranchisement of young and migrant voters.

Under Article 326, every citizen aged 18 or over has the right to be on the electoral roll. The Election Commission (ECI) is now running a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in phases across the country [3]. After Karnataka's revision, its roll is about 64.5 lakh short of the projected adult population [4]. The ECI clearly has the legal power to revise rolls. What matters now is how that power is used.

Constitutional and Statutory Basis

• Article 324 gives the ECI "superintendence, direction and control" over preparing electoral rolls.
• Section 21(3), RPA 1950 lets the ECI order a special revision of any roll "in such manner as it may think fit" [1].
• Who is eligible: a citizen aged 18 or over on the qualifying date who is not disqualified by law [3].
• Judicial endorsement: in 2026 INSC 564, the Supreme Court held that SIR falls within the ECI's statutory mandate and fits its duty under Article 324. The Court also tested whether the exercise followed the RPA and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 [2].

Why Young and Migrant Voters Are at Risk

• Burden on the voter: each elector must return an enumeration form. Anyone who misses it has to apply again through Form 6 during claims and objections [3].
• Who is missing: 38.41 lakh (59.5%) of Karnataka's gap are aged 18–29 [4]. Migrants are often marked "Absent/Shifted" during field verification [5].

Safeguards Needed

• Publish deletions with reasons: share the absent, shifted, dead and duplicate lists with booth-level agents of political parties [5]. Hear a voter before deleting them as "shifted".
• Targeted enrolment: carry out the ECI's special drive, in which BLOs (Booth Level Officers) help left-out and first-time voters fill Form 6 at home [5]. Make full use of the four qualifying dates and advance applications at 17 [6].
• Easier proof: accept a wide list of documents, including commonly held IDs like Aadhaar. Allow online transfer of enrolment for migrants.
• Independent oversight: extend the Special Roll Observers [7], and allow independent audits of the verification software.
• Better measurement: Karnataka reports an elector-to-population ratio of 66.11, but this divides electors by the total population, including children [4]. An age-wise ratio based on adults would show the real gap.

The ECI's power to revise rolls is legally settled, and the Court has backed it. Its legitimacy, however, depends on keeping every eligible voter on the roll. A clean roll that leaves out young and mobile citizens would undermine the universal adult franchise guaranteed by Article 326.