Can you punish laxity by forfeiting the right to vote forever, Supreme Court asks ECI
The Supreme Court of India has questioned the Election Commission's authority to permanently disenfranchise voters for failing to return enumeration forms. The court criticized the ECI's handling of electoral roll revisions and the requirement for existing voters to re-register.
Why it matters
The case addresses fundamental democratic rights and the potential for administrative errors to cause mass disenfranchisement of millions of citizens.
NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Wednesday (October 28, 2026) questioned the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) authority to deprive citizens forever of their right to vote simply because they were lax in returning enumeration forms during the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which has disenfranchised nearly 13 crore voters across the country. “Let us say a voter was lax, inert or did not respond, will that be a ground for you, the Election Commission of India, to forfeit his or her right to vote forever? We will answer that,” Justice Joymalya Bagchi, a judge on the Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, addressed the poll body.
Also covering this story
3 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
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