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dismisses PIL, says existing mechanism by ECI adequate for homeless voter enrolment
Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia dismisses public interest litigation seeking special facilitative measures for homeless and demolition-displaced persons during the exercise for Delhi's electoral rolls.
Introduction
The on , dismissed a filed by Indu Prakash Singh, which sought directions to the (ECI) to formulate and implement a special facilitative mechanism for homeless persons and those displaced by demolition drives, to ensure their inclusion in the electoral rolls during the ongoing exercise. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia held that the existing mechanism provided in the ECI's Manual on Electoral Rolls is adequate and the apprehension of systematic exclusion was without basis.
Case Background and Petitioner's Concerns
The PIL was filed in the context of the SIR exercise initiated by the ECI in Delhi, which involved house-to-house verification by . The petitioner argued that the process, which sends forms to addresses recorded in the last electoral roll, would disproportionately affect persons whose homes have been demolished or who are homeless. These individuals, it was contended, would be marked as 'shifted' or 'absent' by BLOs, leading to their exclusion from the draft electoral roll without a fair opportunity to be heard. The petitioner highlighted that an estimated three lakh people had been rendered homeless due to demolition drives conducted by agencies including the , , and since 2023.
The petitioner further argued that the SIR mechanism amounted to a "" violative of , which guarantees . It was submitted that despite public acknowledgment by the Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi that demolition-affected persons are 'special cases', no targeted facilitative measures had been put in place.
ECI's Response and Existing Provisions
The ECI, represented by Standing Counsel , countered that the Manual on Electoral Rolls () already contains a specific provision for homeless persons at Clause 8.5. This clause states that homeless persons, including pavement dwellers, are eligible for enrolment if they are ordinarily residing at a place, and requires BLOs to visit the address given in for more than one night to ascertain that the person actually sleeps there. The ECI also referred to an earlier order in Sana Parveen & Ors. v. (), where the Court had directed affected persons to approach the District BLO for inclusion of their names by filing .
The ECI placed on record an extract of the Draft Electoral Roll showing the inclusion of homeless persons with their name, photograph, age, and gender, with '0' entered in place of house number, demonstrating that the mechanism is already being implemented.
Court's Analysis and Observations
The Court examined the Manual and found that the process for determination of for homeless persons is already well-laid. The Bench observed:
"Having considered the submissions on behalf of learned Senior Counsel for the Petitioner as well as learned Counsel for the ECI, we are of the considered opinion that the Manual already provide process for determination of the in accordance with the for homeless persons as per . Therefore, the apprehension of the Petitioner that the homeless persons shall be excluded from the Draft Electoral Roll appears to be without any basis."
The Court noted that the petitioner had made "" regarding exclusion without providing particulars or numbers of persons still excluded after the last Assembly Elections. It found no vacuum in the existing mechanism, adding that any excluded elector could file , after which the BLO would visit the provided address for more than one night to verify .
Key Observations from the Judgment
"The Manual clearly provides that once the details are provided by homeless persons in , the BLO will visit the address given therein for more than one night to ascertain that the homeless person actually sleeps at the given place."
"The extract of the Draft Electoral Roll placed on record by learned Counsel for the ECI clearly showing the category of homeless persons with their name, age, gender and photograph, showing the house number as ‘0’ clearly demonstrates that the ECI is already implementing the process of inclusion of the homeless persons in the Draft Electoral Roll as provided in the Manual during the SIR exercise."
Decision and Implications
The Division Bench dismissed the PIL, stating that none of the prayers sought deserve to be granted. The pending application also stood disposed of. The court's decision reaffirms that the existing legal and procedural framework is sufficient to protect the voting rights of homeless and displaced persons, and that individual grievances can be addressed through the prescribed process of filing and BLO verification. The judgment underscores that homelessness or displacement due to demolition does not automatically lead to disenfranchisement, as long as affected persons follow the available mechanisms.
