Election roll exclusion doesn’t lead to deportation: ECI to Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that removing a person from the electoral roll for lack of documents will not “ipso facto” result in the person’s deportation.

Counsel for the poll body argued that the ECI is legally empowered to refer such a case to the central government for investigation and take necessary action under the Foreigners Act.

The application was filed amid the resumed hearing of a series of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the special massive revision of voter rolls carried out by the ballot box in different states.
In the last hearing, the ECI had stated that in addition to having the constitutional authority to change the voter rolls, it is also its constitutional duty to ensure that there are no foreigners in the voter rolls.