Supreme Court to review EC's plan to re-enrol deleted Delhi voters

The Supreme Court has scheduled hearing on a petition challenging the Election Commission of India's decision to enrol voters who were deleted from Delhi's electoral rolls as new electors. The matter is listed for October 28 before the apex court.

According to data from the recent Special Integrated Review (SIR) of electoral rolls in Delhi, over 4.76 million electors were excluded during the enumeration phase. The petitioner has raised concerns about the EC's subsequent move to register these deleted voters as fresh entries rather than addressing the circumstances of their removal.

The case reflects ongoing concerns about electoral roll management in India's capital, where the accuracy and updating of voter lists remain contentious issues. The petition argues that the EC's approach bypasses the procedural safeguards established for electoral roll maintenance.

The election body has previously defended its methodology as part of routine electoral roll corrections necessary to keep voter databases current and accurate. However, the scale of deletions in Delhi has drawn scrutiny from various stakeholders.

The Supreme Court's decision on this matter could have significant implications for how the EC handles similar situations in future electoral roll revisions across the country.