Democracy in peril as voters illegally ousted: Ex-SC judge Nariman
Former Supreme Court judge Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman has criticized the Election Commission of India, citing the mass disenfranchisement of voters in West Bengal. He argues that the current appointment process for election commissioners undermines democratic integrity and calls for judicial intervention.
Why it matters
The critique highlights systemic concerns regarding the independence of election oversight bodies and the potential for political manipulation of voter rolls in the world's largest democracy.
NEW DELHI: Ahead of a Supreme Court hearing Monday on the SIR controversy and a plea seeking suspension of the CEC for his "unilateral decisions", former SC judge Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman Sunday flagged "malfunctioning" of the poll panel and said a citizen's right to vote, which is at the heart of democracy, was in great peril because of "illegal knocking out" of people from voters' lists.Justice Nariman also highlighted the problem in the appointment process of election commissioners, which is in Centre's hands. He expressed hope SC would rise to the occasion and rectify the mistakes prevailing in the system.He said around 93% of adjudicated cases of deleted voters in West Bengal had been decided in their favour which meant they were illegally removed.
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