Mass Disenfranchisement Would Negate Constitutional Order: SC Judge Ujjal Bhuyan

Mangalore Today News Network

Hyderabad, Oct. 4, 2026: Supreme Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Sunday said that any process resulting in the disenfranchisement of millions of Indian citizens would amount to a negation of the constitutional order, asserting that no authority could justify such a move and no court could condone it.

Addressing the 19th NALSAR-Justice B.R. Sawhney Memorial Moot Court Competition at NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad, Justice Bhuyan said the Constitution did 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 voting rights, such a process is intrinsically arbitrary," he said, adding that it struck at the very heart of the Constitution.

Though he did not name any specific exercise or authority, his remarks come amid continuing political debate over the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which was upheld by the Supreme Court earlier this year.

Justice Bhuyan said mass disenfranchisement would violate Articles 14 and 326 of the Constitution, which guarantee the right to equality and provide for universal adult suffrage, respectively. He stressed that the right to vote was inseparable from the identity of an Indian citizen.

"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," he said.
He further maintained that, except in the case of a deceased voter, a person’s name once included in the electoral roll could not be deleted without notice and an opportunity to be heard.

"Article 326 cannot be tinkered with at all. No authority can do it; no court can condone it. No one is above the Constitution," he said.

While the Supreme Court has held that voting is not a fundamental right, Justice Bhuyan noted that it is a constitutional right and argued that the right to vote was central to the Basic Structure doctrine.

Describing universal adult franchise as an "act of faith" by the framers of the Constitution in the common citizen, he said the value of every vote was equal, irrespective of a person’s economic or social status.

"One may be a billionaire, and one may be a rickshaw puller; yet both will have their votes, and the value of their votes would be equal," he said.

Linking the right to vote with India’s freedom struggle, Justice Bhuyan said it was a manifestation of the sacrifices made to achieve independence and must be protected by every generation.

Quoting jurist Nani Palkhivala and former US Supreme Court judge Felix Frankfurter, he underscored the need for citizens to remain vigilant in safeguarding democracy and constitutional freedoms.