GUWAHATI: Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Sunday, October 4, criticised the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, saying any process that disenfranchises millions of Indian citizens is intrinsically arbitrary and strikes at the heart of the Constitution.
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Speaking at the valedictory ceremony of the Justice Bodh Raj Sawhney Memorial Moot Court competition at Nalsar University of Law in Hyderabad, Justice Bhuyan said removing citizens’ right to vote would amount to taking “out the soul from the body”.
“If any process results in disenfranchising millions and millions of Indian citizens, making them second-class citizens in their own country, in the sense of being citizens without voting rights, such a process is intrinsically arbitrary. No amount of whataboutery can justify it.”
“It strikes at the very heart of the Constitution and I would go to the extent of saying that it is a negation of the constitutional order, which we have adopted under the Constitution of India,” he said.
Justice Bhuyan said no justification could be given for a process that undermines the constitutional right to participate in elections. He said such an exercise strikes at the core of the constitutional order.
Referring to B R Ambedkar’s closing speech in the Constituent Assembly, Justice Bhuyan highlighted the principle of “one man, one vote and one vote, one value” as a key aspect of equality and the Constitution.
He said a billionaire and a rickshaw puller have votes of equal value, as do people from socially and economically different backgrounds. Universal adult franchise, he said, was a transformative promise that gave every citizen an equal voice in choosing those who govern.
Justice Bhuyan referred to Articles 325 and 326 of the Constitution, which deal with electoral rolls and elections based on adult suffrage. He said the emphasis was on “every citizen of India” and that, unless a citizen is disqualified under constitutionally recognised grounds, the person is entitled to be registered as a voter.
“The right to vote cannot be detached from the identity of a citizen. It will be like taking out the soul from the body,” he said.
Justice Bhuyan further said Article 326 could not be diluted and that no authority or court could disregard the constitutional principle behind it.
“No one is above the Constitution,” he said.
He also invoked constitutional lawyer Nani Palkhivala’s reminder that freedom must be defended by every generation to survive.
“And what is the worth of a citizen without her voting right,” Justice Bhuyan asked.
