Protests persist as Rahul calls for joint ‘resistance’

1. At a Glance

• On 3 Oct 2026, Opposition leaders, civil-society activists and youth groups kept up street protests. They want Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar removed and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls suspended [1].
• Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi launched the 'Satyagraha' digital platform to "map resistance movements across the country" [1].
• For UPSC, the episode ties together several examinable themes:
• Article 324, under which the Election Commission controls elections [5]
• How a CEC can be removed, which is the same procedure as for a Supreme Court judge [2]
• The CEC & ECs Act, 2023 [2][4]

• The Supreme Court's May 2026 ruling upholding the SIR [6][7]

• The core issue is the tension between the integrity of electoral rolls and voters being wrongly left off them. This feeds GS-II questions on how independent and accountable constitutional bodies are.

2. Why in the News

• Delhi Police detained about 150 protesters marching towards Jantar Mantar [1]. Those detained included:
• AISA leader Neha Bora
• activists Yogendra Yadav and Anjali Bharadwaj

• SC advocate Prashant Bhushan

• Kapil Sibal, an Independent Rajya Sabha MP, joined the march but was not detained [1].

• Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called for the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies to be dissolved, describing the polls as "illegal" [1].
• Background: the SIR's draft rolls cut the electorate in 31 States/UTs back to roughly 2015 levels. The Opposition wants all 130 million excluded electors restored [8].
• Three NDA allies also asked the ECI to clarify things during the SIR row (Sept 2026) [11].

3. Background & Evolution

• Constitutional origin: Article 324 gives the Election Commission "superintendence, direction and control" of elections. The ECI is made up of the CEC and as many ECs as the President decides [5][2].
• Constituent Assembly debates: members argued over how Election Commissioners should be appointed. They intended appointments to be regulated by law, not decided by the Executive [13][2].
• 1991: the Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act was enacted. It was later repealed by the 2023 Act [2].
• 2023: the Supreme Court underlined that the Constituent Assembly wanted an independent ECI [2]. Parliament then passed the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 (Act No. 49 of 2023) [3][4].
• July 2025: the SIR began in Bihar ahead of the Assembly polls [9][14]:
• The SC questioned the timing and the exclusion of Aadhaar [10].
• The SC asked the ECI to consider Aadhaar, voter ID and ration cards [9].

• The ECI told the SC that Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship [15].

• Jan 2026: the SC said the ECI must stay within constitutional limits when revising rolls [12].

• 27 May 2026: the SC upheld the legality of the SIR (2026 INSC 564) [6][7].
• Sept–Oct 2026: draft-roll exclusion data came out and the protests escalated [8][1].

4. Core Static Facts

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Legal / Constitutional

• The SC found the SIR within the ECI's powers. It said the SIR has a "direct nexus" to free and fair elections, and that accurate rolls are "the foundation of the democratic process" [6][7].
• Removing a CEC needs a special majority in both Houses [2]. The Opposition's demand for removal is therefore politically symbolic unless it has numbers in Parliament.
• Aadhaar was accepted as an identity document for inclusion. The ECI's position is that it is not proof of citizenship [6][15]. This raises the question of whether verifying citizenship falls within the ECI's role.

Ethical / Governance

• Under the 2023 Act, the Executive (the PM and a Cabinet Minister) holds 2 of the 3 seats on the Selection Committee [2]. This sits uneasily with the Constituent Assembly's aim of appointments "not decided by the Executive" [13][2].
• When NDA allies also seek clarification from the ECI, the concern is clearly not only a partisan one [11].

Social

• Mass deletions of 130 million names could hit migrants, the poor and people without documents hardest [8].
• Requiring documents could exclude people who do not have them. The SC relied on notice, hearing and appeal as the safeguards against this [6].

Political / Democratic Rights

• The protests took the form of marches to Jantar Mantar, leading to detentions [1]. This puts the right to protest (Art. 19(1)(a)/(b)) against police powers.
• The LoP's 'Satyagraha' platform tries to link scattered movements, since people are "too often fighting alone" [1].
• Kharge's demand to dissolve the legislatures [1] has no basis in the Constitution, which provides no mechanism for "illegal polls" other than election petitions.

Administrative

• Doing a full intensive revision just before elections raised questions about timing and capacity [10][14].
• Draft rolls go through objections and hearings before they are finalised [6]. The draft-stage exclusion numbers [8] are therefore not necessarily final.

6. Recent Developments (last 12-18 months)

• 10 Jul 2025: in the Bihar SIR case, the SC raised timing and Aadhaar-exclusion concerns and asked the ECI to consider Aadhaar, voter ID and ration cards [9][10].
• Jul 2025: the ECI told the SC that Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship [15].
• 22 Jan 2026: the SC said the ECI must follow constitutional limits in revising voter rolls [12].
• 27 May 2026: the SC upheld the SIR in 2026 INSC 564 [6][7].
• 25 Sep 2026: three NDA allies sought clarification from the ECI [11].
• 30 Sep 2026: data showed the draft rolls took the electorate back to around 2015 levels, with 130 million excluded [8].
• 3 Oct 2026: about 150 people were detained in Delhi, the 'Satyagraha' platform was launched, and Kharge called for dissolution [1].

7. Prelims Hooks

• The ECI derives its power from Article 324 of the Constitution [5].
• The President fixes the number of Election Commissioners [2].
• Under the 2023 Act, the Selection Committee is the PM, a Union Cabinet Minister and the LoP/leader of the largest Opposition party in the Lok Sabha. The CJI is not a member [2].
• The CEC is removed like an SC judge: both Houses, same session, majority of total membership plus two-thirds of those present and voting [2].
• An EC can be removed only on the CEC's recommendation [2].
• The CEC & ECs Act, 2023 is Act No. 49 of 2023 [4].
• The 2023 Act repealed the 1991 Act on ECs' conditions of service [2].
• The SIR was upheld under Article 324 and Section 21(3) of the RP Act [6].
• The May 2026 SIR Bench was CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi [6].
• The SC directed that Aadhaar be accepted as a valid identity document in the SIR [6].
• The ECI's position is that Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship [15].
• The SIR draft rolls excluded about 130 million electors across 31 States/UTs [8].
• The 'Satyagraha' digital platform was launched by the LoP in the Lok Sabha in Oct 2026 [1].

8. What the 130 Million Figure Hides

• Most of the names were cut for one reason: the person had moved
• About 14% of registered electors were left off the draft rolls [16].
• About 70% of these cuts were for migration or the voter being absent. About 21% were for deaths, and about 9% were for duplicate entries [16].

• So the headline number mixes three very different things. A dead voter's name should go. A duplicate should go. A migrant worker's name is the real worry.

• "Shifted or absent" is a judgement, not a record

• A death can be checked against a death register. A duplicate can be checked by matching data.
• "Shifted" or "absent" usually means the field officer did not find the person at home. A seasonal migrant who will come back to vote falls into the same category as someone who has really moved away.

• Deletions were highest in the northern States, which send out the most migrant workers [16].

• The damage is concentrated in some places

• Delhi's draft roll left out 4.77 million names [17].
• In 13 of Delhi's 70 Assembly constituencies, more than 40% of electors were missing from the draft [18].

• When nearly half of a constituency drops out, it can change who wins. A national average hides this.

• How to read the number in an answer

• It is a draft figure. Names can come back through claims and objections [6].
• The real test is the final roll. How many wrongly removed people actually got their names back?

9. Who Has to Prove What: The Burden Moves to the Voter

• In a normal revision the State finds you. In the SIR, you must prove yourself to stay on the roll
• Voters who did not submit the enumeration form (the form each existing voter had to fill and return) in time were left out of the draft roll [17].
• To get back in, they must apply on Form 6 (the form a new voter uses to join the roll), along with a declaration [17].

• So someone who has voted for years is treated like a first-time applicant.

• The paperwork itself is already being questioned

• A High Court asked the ECI why Form 8 applications (the form used to correct an entry or shift it to a new address) were being rejected automatically by software during the SIR [19].
• If a machine rejects a form, there is no officer and no reasoning to appeal against. This weakens the "speaking orders" safeguard that the SC relied on [6].

• The ECI has now removed the SIR declaration from Form 6 in States where the exercise is over [20]. This quietly admits that the extra step was a barrier.

• Why the citizenship question makes it harder

• The ECI says Aadhaar proves identity but not citizenship [15].
• So a voter with Aadhaar may still need another document to prove they are a citizen. The poor and migrants are the people least likely to have such documents.

10. Why the Commission's Independence Is Weaker Than It Looks

• The committee can choose a CEC with no Opposition member present
• The 2023 law allows the Selection Committee to make a recommendation even if one seat is empty [2].
• The only seat that can be empty is the LoP's — for example, when the Lok Sabha is dissolved. The committee is then made up only of ruling-party members [2].

• That is exactly the time, just before a general election, when a neutral appointment matters most.

• The shortlist can be ignored

• A Search Committee prepares a panel of five names [2].

• The Selection Committee can still pick "any other candidate" [2]. This makes the vetting step optional.

• Only senior bureaucrats are eligible

• Only people of Secretary rank (the top civil-service grade) can be appointed [2].
• But the ECI also does quasi-judicial work (deciding cases like a court), such as disqualifications and disputes over party symbols [2].

• South Africa allows judges to be appointed to its election body [2]. India does not.

• The ECI does not control its own office

• The ECI has no independent secretariat (its own staff, separate from the government's) of the kind Parliament and the Supreme Court have [2].

• The Goswami Committee (1990) recommended one, and the SC repeated this in 2023. The 2023 Act did not provide it [2].

• The Election Commissioners can still be removed easily

• The ECI itself has told the government that the current protection for ECs is inadequate and needs a constitutional amendment [22].
• Until that happens, two of the three members of a body that decides as a group have weaker job security than the third [2].

11. The Best Case Against the Protesters — and Where It Falls Short

• The strongest objection: the courts have already decided this
• The SC upheld the SIR under Article 324 and Section 21(3) of the RP Act. It said accurate rolls are the base of democracy [6][7].
• Kharge has called the polls "illegal" and demanded fresh elections on ballot papers [23]. No court has made such a finding, and the Constitution offers no such remedy.
• Removing the CEC needs a special majority in both Houses [2]. The Opposition does not have it, so the street demand cannot succeed.

• On this view, the right path is claims and objections, appeals and election petitions — not marches.

• What this objection gets right

• Clean rolls are a real public good. About 30% of the cuts were deaths and duplicates, which should never have been on the roll [16].

• Calling every election "illegal" weakens trust in all results, including the ones the Opposition wins. That harms the same institution the protesters say they want to protect.

• Where it falls short

• The SC ruled that the SIR is legal. It did not rule that every deletion was correct. It left that to safeguards that are now under strain — for example, automatic rejection of forms [6][19].
• The concern is not only coming from one side. Three NDA allies also asked the ECI for clarification [11].

• An election body works only if the losing side trusts it. When the referee is appointed by one team [2] and removes names on a large scale [8], that trust becomes a constitutional issue, not just a political one.

• Balanced view for Mains: the demand to dissolve the legislatures goes too far. But the protest is right to point to real gaps in process and appointment, and the courts and Parliament can fix those.

12. What Should Change, and Who Should Do It

• ECI: a human officer should decide every rejection

• Stop rejecting Form 8 applications automatically [19]. Every rejection should be a reasoned order that the voter can appeal, which is the safeguard the SC relied on [6].

• ECI: give extra time and a check visit for "shifted/absent" cases

• This category makes up about 70% of the deletions [16].
• Before a name is finally removed, the officer should visit a second time or send a notice to the voter's phone number or Aadhaar-linked contact.

• In constituencies where more than 40% of names were cut, such as the 13 in Delhi [18], the claims window should be reopened.

• ECI: publish the final-roll numbers next to the draft

• For each booth and each reason, show how many people were dropped in the draft, how many claimed, and how many were restored.

• This is the only way to show whether the safeguards actually worked.

• Parliament: give Election Commissioners the same protection as the CEC

• Amend Article 324(5) so ECs can be removed only like the CEC. Both the ECI [22] and the Law Commission's reports on strengthening the ECI, including the 255th Report (2015) [21], have asked for stronger protection.

• Parliament: make the selection process more neutral

• Add a neutral member, as the SC's 2023 interim arrangement did by including the CJI [2]. Do not allow the committee to decide while the LoP's seat is empty [2].
• Give the ECI an independent secretariat, as the Goswami Committee (1990) recommended [2].

13. Anchors for Answers

• Data: about 14% of registered electors left off the SIR draft rolls; about 70% of these for migration or absence, about 21% for deaths, about 9% for duplicates [16]
• Data: about 130 million excluded from the draft rolls; electorate in 31 States/UTs back near 2015 levels [8]
• Data: 13 of Delhi's 70 constituencies had more than 40% of electors missing from the draft roll [18]
• Report/Committee: Goswami Committee (1990) — independent secretariat for the ECI [2]; Law Commission 255th Report on Electoral Reforms (2015) — strengthen the ECI [21]; ECI's own proposal for equal removal protection for ECs [22]
• Law/Case: Article 324(5); CEC & ECs Act, 2023; Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India (2023); 2026 INSC 564 (SIR upheld) [2][7]
• Comparison: South Africa allows judges to be appointed to its election body, while India allows only Secretary-rank officers [2]

14. Mains Relevance

• GS-II:
• Appointment to constitutional posts, and the powers, functions and responsibilities of constitutional bodies (ECI)
• Salient features of the Representation of People's Act

• Parliament (removal procedures, role of the LoP)

• GS-IV: institutional integrity, and public trust in neutral institutions.

• Possible question stems: 1. "The independence of the Election Commission rests as much on its appointment process as on its removal safeguards." Critically examine this in light of the CEC & ECs Act, 2023. 2. Discuss the constitutional and statutory basis of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. How can the integrity of electoral rolls be balanced against the risk of wrongly excluding voters? 3. How far is street protest a legitimate tool of democratic accountability when constitutional remedies, such as the removal motion and election petitions, exist? Illustrate with recent events.

15. Related Topics to Study Next

• Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India (2023): the SC case that preceded the 2023 Act on appointments [2].
• RP Act, 1950 vs RP Act, 1951: preparing rolls vs conducting elections and handling election petitions.
• Article 326 and universal adult franchise: the basis for the right to be on the electoral roll.
• Aadhaar–voter ID linkage (Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021): the Aadhaar-in-SIR debate [6][15].
• Removal of SC/HC judges (Art. 124(4), Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968): the template for removing a CEC [2].
• Role of the Leader of Opposition: a statutory member of selection committees (CEC, CVC, Lokpal, CIC) [2].
• Delimitation: a parallel federal flashpoint on representation.
• Right to protest (Art. 19, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan 2018, Jantar Mantar): the regulation of protests [1].

16. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• Selection Committee: the 2023 Act includes a Cabinet Minister, not the CJI. Don't confuse it with the interim arrangement the SC set out in 2023 [2].
• Removal of CEC vs ECs: the CEC is removed like an SC judge, but ECs are removed on the CEC's recommendation. Their safeguards are not equal [2].
• "Special majority": it is a majority of total membership plus two-thirds of those present and voting, in each House and in the same session [2].
• Aadhaar's status: it is accepted as an identity document but is not proof of citizenship [6][15]. Don't say the SC made Aadhaar mandatory or sufficient.
• The SIR's statutory hook is in the RP Act (Sec. 21(3)) [6]. The electoral-roll provisions are in the 1950 Act, not the 1951 Act.