Plea Before Supreme Court Seeking Special Electoral Roll Revisions Across India To Remove 'Foreign Infiltrators'

Filed by Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, the matter was orally mentioned before a Bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Joymalya Bagchi today. Upadhyay requested that his plea be tagged with other related matters already pending before the Court. However, Justice Dhulia directed him to first cure the defects in his petition, after which the Registry would decide on the appropriate course of action.

The petition asserts that demographic shifts caused by illegal infiltration, religious conversions, and unchecked migration have altered the electoral composition of over 200 districts and 1500 tehsils. It claims that these changes are politically manipulated and used to distort electoral mandates. It states, “Demography is destiny, and dozens of districts have already seen their destiny being shaped by those who aren’t Indians… It is through elections that a nation shapes its politics and policy, and therefore, it is constitutional duty of the Centre, State and ECI to ensure that only genuine citizens cast their vote in Parliamentary, State Assembly and Local Body elections, not the foreigners.”

The petition submits that the ECI’s routine annual revision under Section 14(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, is insufficient in scale and rigor. It invokes Section 21(3) of the Act, which permits special revisions in extraordinary circumstances, and urges the Court to interpret this provision in light of the current threat to electoral purity. It submits, “Purging illegal entries of Pakistani, Afghanistani, Bangladeshi & Rohingya infiltrators prevents dilution of legitimate votes and upholds equality of suffrage… High margins of error erode faith in the democratic processes. A comprehensive roll‑cleaning reinforces citizens’ trust in electoral outcomes and the rule of law.”

It further claims that infiltration is no longer an isolated administrative lapse but a coordinated act involving forged identity documents, political patronage, and organised criminal syndicates.The petition notes, “Illegal infiltration is facilitated by well-established syndicates. These syndicates operate human trafficking routes, provide fake identification documents, bribe border officials, and arrange safe transport and settlement of infiltrators… In several cases, these infiltrators are recruited by anti-national elements for extremist activities.”

Referring to the ECI’s own justification for initiating SIR in Bihar, such as urbanisation, unreported deaths, and influx of outsiders, it has been contended in the petition that these problems exist across India and warrant similar action.

The petition further submits that this amounts to a threat to sovereignty and national security, asserting, “When a group of persons enters Indian territory, with the objective to change the demography, such infiltration crosses the threshold from being a mere immigration offence to a grave offence… It becomes a part of a larger transnational criminal conspiracy.”

In addition to seeking nationwide roll revision, the petition urges the Court to direct state governments and union territories to identify and take legal action against those who assist infiltrators by preparing fake Aadhaar cards, ration cards, voter IDs and other documents, and requests the issuance of any further directions necessary to uphold electoral integrity and prevent criminal interference with the franchise.

In this backdrop, it is noteworthy that Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and others have also moved the Supreme Court to challenge the constitutional validity of the Election Commission’s June 24, 2025, order initiating a Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls in Bihar. Moitra’s plea contends that the Bihar exercise is arbitrary, ultra vires the Representation of the People Act, and likely to result in large-scale disenfranchisement of genuine voters, particularly those from marginalised communities.