‘No amount of whataboutery can...’: Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on denying voting rights amid SIR row
Justice Bhuyan said the Constitution does not envisage two categories of Indian citizens, those with voting rights and those without them.
- Oct 5, 2026,
- Updated Oct 5, 2026 1:02 PM IST
Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has said any process that disenfranchises millions of Indian citizens and leaves them without voting rights would strike “at the very heart of the Constitution”, News 18 reported.
His remarks came amid the ongoing controversy over the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Speaking at the valedictory ceremony of the 19th Justice Bodh Raj Sawhney Memorial Moot Court Competition at NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad on Sunday, Justice Bhuyan said such a process would be “intrinsically arbitrary”.
“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,” he said.
He added, “No amount of whataboutery can justify it.”
Right to vote is constitutional right
Justice Bhuyan said the Constitution does not envisage two categories of Indian citizens, those with voting rights and those without them. He said wholesale disenfranchisement would violate Articles 326 and 14.
Don't Miss: SIR Row: Supreme Court to hear pleas seeking action against CEC Gyanesh Kumar today
“Article 326 cannot be tinkered with at all,” he said. “No authority can do it. No court can endorse it or condone it. No one is above the Constitution.”
He said the right to vote is closely linked to India’s struggle against foreign rule and forms the foundation of free and fair elections.
Justice Bhuyan also referred to Section 22 of the Representation of the People Act, saying a voter’s name cannot be deleted without notice and an opportunity of being heard, except in the case of a dead person.
“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.
Remarks amid SIR controversy
The Supreme Court had earlier in May upheld the ECI’s SIR exercise, first undertaken in Bihar, holding it constitutional and legally tenable. It also clarified that the ECI can determine eligibility for electoral-roll inclusion but cannot determine citizenship status.
Justice Bhuyan, who served as NALSAR Chancellor, also quoted US judge Justice Felix Frankfurter: “Democracy is always a beckoning goal, not a safe harbour; for freedom is an unremitting endeavour, never a final achievement.”
“I ask myself, what is the worth of a citizen without his/her voting rights,” he said.
Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has said any process that disenfranchises millions of Indian citizens and leaves them without voting rights would strike “at the very heart of the Constitution”, News 18 reported.
His remarks came amid the ongoing controversy over the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Speaking at the valedictory ceremony of the 19th Justice Bodh Raj Sawhney Memorial Moot Court Competition at NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad on Sunday, Justice Bhuyan said such a process would be “intrinsically arbitrary”.
“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,” he said.
He added, “No amount of whataboutery can justify it.”
Right to vote is constitutional right
Justice Bhuyan said the Constitution does not envisage two categories of Indian citizens, those with voting rights and those without them. He said wholesale disenfranchisement would violate Articles 326 and 14.
Don't Miss: SIR Row: Supreme Court to hear pleas seeking action against CEC Gyanesh Kumar today
“Article 326 cannot be tinkered with at all,” he said. “No authority can do it. No court can endorse it or condone it. No one is above the Constitution.”
He said the right to vote is closely linked to India’s struggle against foreign rule and forms the foundation of free and fair elections.
Justice Bhuyan also referred to Section 22 of the Representation of the People Act, saying a voter’s name cannot be deleted without notice and an opportunity of being heard, except in the case of a dead person.
“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.
Remarks amid SIR controversy
The Supreme Court had earlier in May upheld the ECI’s SIR exercise, first undertaken in Bihar, holding it constitutional and legally tenable. It also clarified that the ECI can determine eligibility for electoral-roll inclusion but cannot determine citizenship status.
Justice Bhuyan, who served as NALSAR Chancellor, also quoted US judge Justice Felix Frankfurter: “Democracy is always a beckoning goal, not a safe harbour; for freedom is an unremitting endeavour, never a final achievement.”
“I ask myself, what is the worth of a citizen without his/her voting rights,” he said.