The Delhi High Court on Thursday reserved its order on a public interest litigation concerning the voting rights of homeless and displaced people during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the national capital. A bench comprising Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia said it would pass an order in the matter.
During the hearing, the court observed that not every issue could be placed before the judiciary and said the Election Commission should work out its own mechanism to ensure that homeless or displaced people are not excluded from the electoral rolls. The poll panel, however, told the court that a system to address such cases is already in place.
Petitioner Indu Prakash Singh sought directions to authorities to take necessary steps to ensure that homeless and displaced people are included in the SIR process and that their names are not deleted from the electoral rolls.
The petition claimed that around three lakh people are homeless in Delhi and argued that the Election Commission's door-to-door verification process could create difficulties for them.
During the hearing, the High Court said the Election Commission should itself devise a mechanism to prevent homeless and displaced people from being left out of the voter list.
The court orally observed that "everything cannot be thrust upon the court" and said the poll panel should determine how an appropriate system could be put in place for such voters.
The court also questioned the petitioner for not providing specific instances of people whose names had been left out of the electoral rolls during the process.
It observed that merely expressing apprehension that voters could be excluded was not sufficient and asked why the petition did not cite the case of any particular person whose name had actually been omitted.
The court noted that the claims made in the petition were, at this stage, based largely on assumptions and apprehensions.
The lawyer appearing for the Election Commission assured the court that the poll body was fully aware of the difficulties faced by homeless and address-less people.
The EC said a protocol was already in place to deal with such cases. The petitioner's lawyer, however, disputed the claim and argued that the existing mechanism was inadequate.
Plea Highlights Challenges Of Door-To-Door Verification
The petition argued that the ongoing SIR exercise in Delhi relies on Booth Level Officers locating voters at their registered addresses.
According to the petitioner, this could pose serious difficulties for people without homes or those displaced from their original addresses following government action or demolitions.
The petition expressed apprehension that voters who cannot be found at their registered addresses could be left out of the electoral rolls, directly affecting their right to vote.
It further claimed that deletion from the electoral rolls could create additional difficulties for such people in the future, including challenges related to establishing their citizenship.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the Delhi High Court reserved its order. The court's forthcoming decision will determine whether any directions are issued to safeguard the voting rights of homeless and displaced people during the SIR exercise.
