EC tells RS no such category as ‘suspicious voters’ under law

The Election Commission through the Law Ministry on Thursday told the Rajya Sabha that the Representation of the People Act, 1951, does not recognise any category called “suspicious voters.” This clarification was given in reply to a question raised by Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Suman, who had asked whether such voters had participated in the previous Lok Sabha elections.

Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal conveyed that the Election Commission had specifically stated there is no legal classification of voters as “suspicious” under the existing election laws.

The Commission's response comes at a time when it is carrying out a Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. In its June 24 statement, the EC had mentioned concerns over the alleged inclusion of illegal foreign nationals on the voter rolls as one of the motivations behind the exercise, Indian Express reported.

Replying to a separate question raised by RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha, the Election Commission stated via Meghwal that the process of linking Aadhaar with the Election Photo Identity Card has not yet commenced. The Commission clarified that although a 2021 amendment to the Representation of the People Act, 1950, allowed for the collection of Aadhaar details, the initiative launched on August 1, 2022, was meant to gather Aadhaar numbers from voters on a voluntary basis.

This statement follows just months after the Commission had indicated that Aadhaar-linking would soon begin. In a press release dated March 18, the EC had noted that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, had held discussions with key officials, including the Union Home Secretary, Legislative Secretary, and the CEO of UIDAI.

“While, as per Article 326 of the Constitution of India, voting rights can only be granted to a citizen of India; the Aadhaar card only establishes the identity of a person. Therefore, it was decided that the linking of EPIC with Aadhaar will be done only as per the provisions of Article 326 of the Constitution, Sections 23(4), 23(5), and 23(6) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and in line with the Supreme Court judgment in WP (Civil) No. 177/2023. Accordingly, technical consultations between UIDAI and the technical experts of the ECI are to begin soon,” the EC press note had said.