Millions Without Voting Rights? SC Judge Ujjal Bhuyan Warns Of ‘Intrinsically Arbitrary’ Process

Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Sunday said any process that results in the disenfranchisement of millions of Indian citizens would be “intrinsically arbitrary” and a negation of the country’s constitutional order.

Addressing the valedictory session of the 19th Justice Bodh Raj Sawhney Memorial Moot Court Competition at NALSAR University of Law, Justice Bhuyan said the Constitution does not envisage two classes of citizens, those with voting rights and those without them.

“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 a voting right, such a process is intrinsically arbitrary. No amount of whataboutery can justify it,” he said.

He said such a process would violate Articles 326 and 14 and strike “at the very heart” of the Constitution. “No authority can do it; no court can endorse it or condone it. No one is above the Constitution,” he said.

Justice Bhuyan stressed that the right to vote is linked to India’s long struggle against foreign rule and the freedom achieved through sacrifice. He said Article 326 cannot be tinkered with.

Rejecting the view that voting is merely a statutory right under laws such as the Representation of the People Act, 1951, he described it as a constitutional right and a foundation of democracy, linked to the basic structure of the Constitution.

Referring to Supreme Court rulings, he said Section 22 of the Representation of the People Act permits deletion from electoral rolls only after a voter gets a reasonable opportunity to be heard. Except in the case of a dead person, an existing voter’s name cannot be deleted without notice and hearing, he said.

“From the persona of an Indian citizen, the right to vote or right to be included in the voters list cannot be detached. It will be like taking out the soul from the body,” Justice Bhuyan said.

He also quoted former US Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter on the continuing struggle to protect democracy and freedom, asking: “What is the worth of a citizen without his/her voting rights?”

Justice Bhuyan, a former NALSAR Chancellor, also praised the university’s students, faculty and Vice Chancellor Srikrishna Deva Rao.