The Supreme Court says the right to vote cannot be lost just because a voter was away. It asked the Election Commission to find 47 lakh missing Delhi voters.
Updated: 29 October 2026, 10:00 IST
Quick Read:
- The Supreme Court heard the Delhi voter-roll case on Wednesday, 28 October 2026. This is separate from the Delhi pollution case.
- About 47 lakh of Delhi’s 1.45 crore voters were left out of the draft rolls in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
- The Election Commission said it will consider late forms and extending the 30 October deadline if needed.
A different case, a different question
Do not mix this case with the Delhi pollution case. Both reached the Supreme Court this week. They are different matters, with different judges and different questions.
This case is about voter lists in Delhi. The process is called Special Intensive Revision, or SIR. In SIR, officials check the voter list afresh. They visit homes. They give enumeration forms. They then publish a draft list.
The draft list for Delhi was published on 31 August 2026. It left out about 47 lakh voters from a pre-revision list of about 1.45 crore voters. The Hans India gives the sharper figure: 47.57 lakh left out. The court and petitioners often round it to 47 lakh.
The bench was led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana. The petitioners were activists Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri. They asked for the names of voters who got notices during SIR, and the reasons for each notice, to be made public.
Why the court was worried
The court asked a simple question. If a voter was already on the 2026 roll, why must they file Form 6 to come back? Form 6 is meant for first-time voters. It asks for a declaration that the person has never voted before.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, for the petitioners, said this creates a trap. An old voter who says they never voted before would be making a false statement. A voter who refuses to sign cannot get back on the list easily.
Justice Bagchi asked: if a voter missed the form, will they lose the right forever? He said, “The right to vote is a vital right. Your job is to act with due diligence.” The court stressed that being away during enumeration is not a good enough reason to lose voting rights for good.
Delhi has a highly mobile population. People move homes often. They may be away for work when the Booth Level Officer, or BLO, visits. The court said the system must account for that fact.
The 47 lakh and the 43 lakh — do not confuse them
Readers will see two numbers: 47 lakh and 43 lakh. They are not the same group.
About 47 lakh names were left out of the draft rolls in total. Within that group, about 43 lakh were marked as shifted or absent, as per the Chief Justice’s remark in court. The Election Commission told the court that of the 47 lakh who did not complete enumeration forms, 43 lakh were deemed permanently shifted, and 2 lakh were deceased, as reported in one summary of the hearing.
The court told the Commission: work on reducing the 43 lakh gap. Publish a list that says, in plain words, “We could not contact you. You were earlier shown at this polling place. Please contact us.” Then ask those voters to meet the nearest BLO and fill Form 8, which is used for address changes and corrections.
The court also said Forms 6 and 8 are still welcome. It asked the Commission to keep persuading people to come forward, and to issue public notices saying there is no hard cut-off at this stage for approaching officials.
What the Election Commission said
The Election Commission did not refuse. It told the bench it will consider accepting late enumeration forms. It also said it will extend the 30 October deadline if needed.
Note the wording carefully. “Will consider” is not the same as “has extended.” At the time of the hearing reports, the deadline had not yet been formally extended in the sources checked. The claims and objections window was first set to close on 30 September. It was later extended to 30 October.
By 26 October, the Commission had disposed of 31.26 lakh of 33.14 lakh notices issued over mapping issues and logical discrepancies. It had received 2.67 lakh Form 6 applications, 20,074 Form 7 objections, and 1.01 lakh Form 8 applications. The final roll is scheduled for publication on 4 December 2026.
The court will take up the case again after two weeks. The Commission is expected to report back on how it will contact the missing voters.
What this means for a Delhi voter
If your name is missing from the draft list, do not assume you are out for good. Check the draft list first. If you moved within Delhi, Form 8 is the form the Chief Justice pointed to. If you are a first-time voter, Form 6 is the right form.
Meet your BLO. Keep a copy of any form you submit. Note the date and the receipt, if given. If a BLO visit missed you because you were away, tell the BLO that fact in plain words. Do not sign a declaration that is not true for you.
The real fight here is not about numbers alone. It is about design. A system built for people who stay at one address for years will fail in a city where people move for rent, work, and family reasons. The court’s fix — publish the missing list, name the old polling place, and invite people to the BLO — treats the voter as someone to be found, not punished.
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FAQ
Q: Is this the same as the Delhi pollution case?
A: No. This is a separate Supreme Court matter about Delhi voter rolls and SIR. The pollution case is about air quality, stubble burning, and green crackers.
Q: Has the 30 October deadline been extended?
A: Not confirmed as a formal order in the hearing reports checked. The Election Commission said it will consider extending it if needed, and the court suggested it should not fix a hard deadline at this stage.
Q: What should a missing voter do next?
A: Check the draft roll, contact your nearest BLO, and file the correct form — Form 8 for an address change or correction if you were already a voter. Do this before the final roll on 4 December 2026, and keep proof of submission.
Sources: DT Next, 28 Oct 2026; The Hans India, 29 Oct 2026; The New Indian Express (PTI), 28 Oct 2026; Deccan Chronicle, 29 Oct 2026; The Telegraph, 28 Oct 2026.
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