Former Supreme Court judge Rohinton Nariman says the right to vote is in great peril
5 October 2026
Former Supreme Court judge Rohinton Nariman said on 4 October 2026 that the right to vote, which he called the heart of the Constitution and of democracy, is at great peril.
He was speaking on 'The Constitution and the Common Man' at Rajkumar College, Rajkot.
He said 90 lakh voters were removed from the electoral rolls in West Bengal during the Special Intensive Revision, that some 22 lakh voters filed appeals, and that of the roughly 1 lakh appeals decided so far, 93 per cent were decided in the voters' favour.
He described the government-controlled appointment of Election Commissioners as a red flag, and noted that two Election Commissioners who objected to decisions of the Chief Election Commissioner took no action under Section 18 of the 2023 Act.
He criticised the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, which replaced the Chief Justice of India with a Cabinet Minister on the selection committee, and recalled Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India (2023).
He urged the Supreme Court's Constitution Bench to decide the validity of the appointment process promptly.
In plain words
SIR Special Intensive Revision — An intensive door-to-door revision of electoral rolls ordered by the Election Commission.
Constitution Bench — A Supreme Court bench of at least five judges that hears substantial questions of constitutional law.
Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India — The 2023 Supreme Court judgment that laid down how Election Commissioners should be appointed.