Supreme Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Sunday said the Indian Constitution does not permit the creation of two classes of citizens based on voting rights and warned that any process leading to the mass disenfranchisement of citizens would be arbitrary and violate Articles 14 and 326.
Justice Bhuyan made the remarks while delivering the valedictory address at the 19th NALSAR-Justice B.R. Sawhney Memorial Moot Court Competition 2026 at NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad.
He said the right to vote was not merely a statutory entitlement but a constitutional right flowing from Article 326, which provides for elections to the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies on the basis of adult suffrage. He also described the right to vote as integral to the basic structure of the Constitution.
Justice Bhuyan said the Constitution does not envisage one category of citizens with voting rights and another without them. He warned that disenfranchising millions of Indian citizens and effectively leaving them without voting rights would amount to a negation of the constitutional order.
He further stressed that the right to vote is central to free and fair elections, which form part of the basic features of the Constitution.
Justice Bhuyan also said that, except in the case of a deceased voter, a name already included in an electoral roll cannot be removed without notice and an opportunity for a hearing.
Although he did not specifically name the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, his remarks came amid ongoing debate and legal scrutiny surrounding the exercise and concerns over the possible exclusion of eligible voters.
The observations highlighted the constitutional principles of equality, universal adult suffrage and participation in the electoral process.
