Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Jaymalya, have clarified that the Election Commission’s power to conduct a thorough revision of voter lists is unique but not unlimited. The Constitution provides for a thorough revision, but it must be conducted in a completely transparent manner and in a manner that ensures complete justice for every legitimate Indian citizen. This justice must not only be done but also be seen to be done, so that every Indian citizen feels completely satisfied. The country’s highest court is hearing a petition challenging the constitutionality of the thorough revision. In this context, the obvious question is: if the Election Commission has the exclusive authority to prepare voter lists, it also has the responsibility to purify them. To fulfill this responsibility, the Election Commission must undertake every effort to remove the names of invalid voters from the voter lists. To carry out this exercise, the Election Commission must identify voters and ensure that no one on the list is deceased and that no one is registered in more than one place. Furthermore, each voter must be an Indian citizen.
As for the constitutionality of the thorough review, common sense dictates how any action authorized by the Constitution itself could be considered unconstitutional. Although this issue was openly debated in the last session of Parliament, the truth remains undisclosed as to from which legal perspective the thorough review could be deemed unconstitutional. Renowned legal experts are now debating this issue in the Supreme Court, and only after that will the Court render its final decision. While this is undoubtedly a matter of legal complexities, it is clear that the law favors natural justice for all. Therefore, the review should treat every citizen who was previously a voter but changed their residence or migrated during the review. In this regard, in the 13 states (including Bihar) where the revision process is currently underway or has been completed, the Election Commission has deleted the names of approximately 60 million voters from the voter lists, clearly demonstrating the presence of significant inaccuracies in the voter lists.
However, it is also true that the names of many legitimate voters have also been deleted from the lists, who, for some reason, could not meet the requirements of the authentic forms required by the Election Commission. Therefore, the Indian Constitution does not deprive such people of the right to vote, as the right to vote, guaranteed to every citizen by the Constitution, is the most important democratic right on which India’s entire democracy rests. This right, by giving every citizen equal rights, ensures that their votes will form the country’s governments and govern them. This democratic participation of voters is called participatory democracy because in it, voters directly participate in power and are considered the makers of the nation’s destiny. If this were not the case, then every five years, from the Prime Minister of this country to the ordinary MLA, no one would have to go to the public court to seek votes and give account of their work.
In fact, it is the right to vote that makes an Indian citizen the king of this country and the true master of democracy. This right of the voter is universal, enshrined in the Constitution. Furthermore, Indian democracy also empowers the voter, as no political party or candidate can exert any pressure on him during elections. His vote remains secret, demonstrating his political will, and political governments are formed accordingly. However, these governments operate solely in accordance with the Constitution, regardless of the political party they belong to. This is why it is said that the Constitution rules India. In this context, we can examine the constitutionality of the thorough revision of the voter list and understand how crucial this issue is for Indian democracy.
Therefore, the Supreme Court judges’ assertion that the revision process should be conducted in a transparent manner and with natural justice paramount is crucial. We must consider that all the progress we have made in all aspects after 78 years of independence has been made under this system, in which the voters of India have played a unique role. They demonstrated their political will, responding to the demands of the times, and formed governments of various parties that have worked to move India forward. Regarding the intensive voter list revision, this process has been carried out repeatedly during independent India, and is recognized by the Representation of the People Act, the very law under which the Election Commission was established. The question now is that no legitimate Indian voter should be excluded from any revision. This is what we would call natural justice. Therefore, the Election Commission must adopt a process that is completely transparent and satisfies every voter in India.
