Delhi High Court Dismisses PIL on Exclusion of Homeless from Voter Lists

The Delhi High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation alleging that homeless persons in Delhi faced the risk of being excluded from electoral rolls during the Election Commission of India's Special Intensive Revision exercise.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia ruled that existing electoral mechanisms already provide for the enrolment of homeless citizens even without a fixed residential address. The court observed that the apprehensions raised in the petition appeared to be without basis and that there was no regulatory vacuum.

The petitioner, Indu Prakash Singh, had argued that Delhi is home to roughly three lakh homeless individuals. The plea contended that the house-to-house enumeration methodology used in the Special Intensive Revision created a structural barrier, putting displaced citizens and pavement dwellers at risk of disenfranchisement.

Rejecting these claims, the court noted that the petitioner had made bald averments regarding the exclusion of persons displaced by demolition drives. The bench pointed out that extracts of the Draft Electoral Roll clearly demonstrate the inclusion of homeless electors, recording their name, age, gender, photograph, and assigning "0" as their house number.

The court highlighted established procedures under the Electoral Rolls Manual and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. Under these guidelines, citizens who do not possess documentary proof of ordinary residence or whose names were omitted due to demolition or relocation can submit Form 6. Following the submission, a Booth Level Officer is required to visit the specified location for more than one night to verify where the person ordinarily sleeps.

The Election Commission had submitted to the court that adequate provisions were already operational to ensure that homeless individuals and pavement dwellers are not left out of the voting process.