“Unless these three conditions are satisfied, one will not be entitled to be registered as a voter,” Dwivedi argued. The core issue, he argued, was whether the poll panel had the authority to determine citizenship at all. Dwivedi told the court that the poll panel had adopted a liberal approach during the SIR by treating the 2003 electoral rolls as a baseline. Justice Bagchi, however, said the poll panel has a constitutional duty to ensure that non-citizens do not figure in the electoral rolls. He argued that preparation of electoral rolls under Article 326 inevitably involves exclusions, such as in cases of death, duplication or migration.

Source: The Telegraph January 15, 2026 13:51 UTC