Former SC judge Justice Nariman flags EC 'malfunctioning', says voters' right to vote in peril
Former Supreme Court judge Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman on Sunday raised concerns over what he described as the "malfunctioning" of the Election Commission, saying the right to vote was under serious threat because people were being "illegally" removed from electoral rolls.
His remarks came a day before the Supreme Court was scheduled to hear petitions concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) controversy, as well as a plea seeking the suspension of the Chief Election Commissioner over alleged "unilateral decisions".
Speaking on "The Constitution and the Common Man" at Rajkumar College in Rajkot, Nariman also questioned the process of appointing election commissioners, saying it remains in the hands of the Centre. He expressed hope that the Supreme Court would intervene and address what he described as shortcomings in the existing system.
Nariman said around 93% of cases involving deleted voters in West Bengal that had been adjudicated were decided in favour of the voters, which he said indicated that the deletions were illegal.
"Now, the unfortunate part is that all this came before the court very recently. Two judges differed, and the ultimate thing is now it has gone before a bench, probably of five judges, in order to find out whether this is good law or not," Nariman said.
He also raised concerns that the appointment of election commissioners continues to remain with the government of the day.
Referring to the recent developments in West Bengal, Nariman said around 90 lakh voters had been disenfranchised, describing the figure as "astounding". He questioned why the Supreme Court had not intervened to stay the process.
Of those affected, around 22 lakh voters filed appeals, Nariman said, adding that those who did not appeal may have lacked the resources or access to justice needed to challenge their exclusion.
He said that almost all of the roughly 1 lakh appeals that had been decided were ruled in favour of the voters.
"So, you can imagine this was completely illegal - knocking out of the common man, the citizen of India in order that a govt obtains what it wants," Nariman said.
He further said the developments in West Bengal had resulted in the removal of the government in power and the formation of a government at the Centre, describing the situation as "very, very disturbing".
Nariman urged the Supreme Court to intervene at the earliest and address the concerns surrounding the functioning of the Election Commission.
"I hope the apex court, the institution to which I once belonged, steps in immediately and rectifies these things. You can't have an EC which functions or malfunctions like this," he said.
He described the process for appointing election commissioners as the first major constitutional "red flag" concerning the common citizen.
Nariman suggested that the Constitution Bench should consider a system in which the prime minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India or his nominee jointly select candidates for the Election Commission.
He said such a mechanism would help ensure that the most suitable candidates are chosen and that votes ultimately translate into the outcomes they are intended to produce.
