The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission (EC) to file an explanation over allegations that voters in Delhi are receiving notices without clear reasons during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls.
The issue surfaced after the draft voter list released in August reportedly left out lakhs of names. The EC has also issued notices to many voters citing “logical discrepancies” in information already provided.
Public interest petitions challenging the revision process were heard by a bench led by Chief Justice Suryakant, along with Justices Jaymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana. Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners, said notices had been sent to around 33 lakh voters, affecting many daily-wage workers, including on grounds such as a small age gap between parents and children.
The bench observed that many notices appeared to be computer-generated and sent in a mechanical manner, without specific reasons. It said additional scrutiny is necessary before issuing notices and that the information sought from voters must be stated clearly.
The court suggested that for voters who have migrated to Delhi from other states, the EC could ask specific questions such as where they voted in 2019. It also directed the EC to publish easy-to-understand FAQs in newspapers and on websites, and asked voter registration officers to meet people directly to assist them.
