Supreme Court judge criticises Special Intensive Revision exercise

A serving Supreme Court judge, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, has criticised the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, according to material supplied by The Hindu. The judge said the right to vote, or the right to be a voter, was not merely a statutory right flowing from parliamentary legislation such as the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The supplied material does not identify the occasion on which Justice Bhuyan made the remarks, provide a fuller account of his reasoning or specify which aspects of the revision exercise he addressed.

The statement comes amid debate over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision process. Separate reporting supplied by The Hindu says the Commission has introduced new options on its ERONET portal for Electoral Registration Officers to dispose of some notice cases without hearings or uploaded documents. Those options are available in States and Union Territories where the revision exercise is continuing.

Officials have been shown a demonstration video explaining how to use the functions, while sources said written instructions had not been circulated. The available material does not establish whether Justice Bhuyan’s comments referred directly to those ERONET changes, to the broader revision exercise or to another issue concerning electoral rights. The judge’s remarks nevertheless place emphasis on the constitutional and democratic significance of voter registration rather than treating it solely as an administrative matter governed by ordinary legislation.

No response from the Election Commission, political parties or other parties is included in the supplied source material. Further details about the context, implications and any legal proceedings connected with the comments are therefore unavailable.