Election Commission and Electoral Rolls

The Election Commission of India is the constitutional authority responsible for supervising the preparation of electoral rolls, which identify eligible voters for elections under its jurisdiction. Article 324(1) vests the superintendence, direction and control of electoral roll preparation in the Commission, alongside responsibility for conducting elections to Parliament, State Legislatures, and the offices of President and Vice-President.

Constitutional principles governing electoral rolls

The Commission must exercise its supervisory mandate consistently with the Constitution’s guarantees of non-discriminatory electoral registration and adult suffrage.

• Article 325 requires one general electoral roll for every territorial constituency for elections to either House of Parliament or a State Legislature.
• No person may be excluded from an electoral roll, or claim inclusion in a special electoral roll, solely on grounds of religion, race, caste or sex.
• Article 326 bases elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies on adult suffrage. Every Indian citizen aged at least 18 years on the legally fixed qualifying date is entitled to registration, unless disqualified under the Constitution or an appropriate law on grounds of non-residence, unsoundness of mind, crime, or corrupt or illegal practice.

How the constitutional mandate is implemented

The Representation of the People Act, 1950 provides the principal statutory framework for preparing and revising electoral rolls. The Commission supervises this process, while designated officers carry out registration work.

• Under Section 13B, the Commission designates or nominates an Electoral Registration Officer for each Assembly constituency in consultation with the State Government.
• The Electoral Registration Officer is responsible for preparing and revising the constituency’s roll in the prescribed manner.
• Assembly constituency rolls also form the basis of the electoral roll for the corresponding parliamentary constituency, as provided by law.

Inclusion, accuracy and procedural safeguards

The mandate requires both inclusion of eligible voters and accuracy of entries. It does not authorise arbitrary additions or deletions.

• Eligibility for registration ordinarily depends on citizenship, the prescribed age and ordinary residence in the constituency.
• A person cannot be registered in more than one constituency or more than once in the same constituency.
• The statutory process provides for claims, objections, correction of entries and appeals against specified registration decisions.
• Where deletion is proposed because a person has ceased to be ordinarily resident or is otherwise ineligible, the law requires verification and a reasonable opportunity of being heard.