NEW DELHI: Eminent advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, known for his PILs, has filed a fresh plea in the Supreme Court on Tuesday to direct the Election Commission to conduct special intensive revision electoral rolls at regular intervals throughout the country, particularly before the Parliamentary, state assembly and local body elections, to ensure that only Indian citizens decide the polity and policy, not the illegal foreign infiltrators.
He stated that infiltration is a serious threat to national security, it is an unlawful activity, an organised crime and a treason, and is akin to waging war against the country.
In his plea, he contended, it is constitutional duty of the Centre, State and EC to ensure that only genuine citizens cast their vote, not the foreigners.
"The demography of 200 districts and 1500 Tehsils have changed after the Independence due to massive illegal infiltration, deceitful religious conversion and population explosion," he claimed.
He mentioned the plea before a bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi for listing his plea along with other petitions challenging the validity of the process, on July 10.
The court said the registry would take a call if the defects were removed.
On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to take up on July 10 a batch of petitions challenging validity of the Election Commission's decision to conduct a special intensive revision of Electoral Rolls in Bihar, ahead of the Assembly polls in November, this year.
Upadhyay, in his plea, stated Article 324(1) vests the Election Commission with superintendence, direction and control over elections. A thorough revision safeguards this constitutional duty and upholds electoral purity. Article 326 guarantees the right to vote. Ensuring accurate rolls secures this right by eliminating false, ghost or duplicate entries.
"Section 14(1) of the RP Act mandates annual summary revisions of electoral rolls. The special intensive revision of electoral rolls is an extraordinary exercise under Section 21(3) to address serious irregularities when the normal cycle is insufficient," it said.
With margins of victory often within a few hundred votes, illegal voters can decisively influence results. The special intensive revision of electoral rolls deters fraud and protects the mandate of the electorate, it added.
The plea also contended infiltration has not only disrupted the demographic imbalance in border areas but throughout the country. It created challenges in law enforcement and governance.
In Bihar, with 243 Assembly Constituencies and an estimated 8,000-10,000 illegal, duplicate and ghost entries in every constituency, even marginal discrepancies of 2,000-3,000 votes can tilt election outcomes. Therefore, a special intensive revision ordered under the Election Commission's powers aims to cleanse the rolls. If not conducted, the integrity of elections, and the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution, would be jeopardized, it contended.
"It is very surprising that various petitions have been filed before this court praying for setting aside or quashing the EC's order of June 24, 2025 on the ground of violation of Articles 14, 19, 21, 325, 326 of the Constitution and provisions of the Representation of People Act and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960," the plea said.
The petitioner submitted that the special intensive revision exercise, rather than being violative of the provisions, is a timely and necessary exercise aimed at ensuring purity, accuracy, and integrity of the electoral rolls and universal adult enfranchisement, as required under the provisions of the Constitution Representation of the People Act, 1950 and Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
"The Right to Life, liberty, dignity, health and justice guaranteed under Article 21 cannot be secured to all citizens and the golden goals as set out in the Preamble cannot be achieved without curbing the illegal infiltration," the plea said.
Therefore, it is the duty of Centre, State and ECI to conduct special intensive revision of voter lists and give a strong message that India is determined to fight against illegal infiltration, the plea said.
It pointed out, Bihar, other than States like Assam, West Bengal and Jharkhand, is reported to have witnessed large-scale illegal immigration, especially from Bangladesh.
Parts of Bihar, especially the Seemanchal region, adjoining Bengal and Nepal, are said to have seen an asymmetric growth in population. The region with four districts is not far from the Siliguri Corridor or Chicken's Neck, where Bangladesh territory juts in. The Seemanchal region, which is also considered the most backward in Bihar, has a 47% Muslim population as against Bihar's state-wide average of 18% due to massive illegal infiltration, it said.
