Indu Prakash Singh vs Government Of The National Capital Territory Of Delhi And Ors

$~52
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
% Date of Decision: 19.08.2026
# CNR No. DLHC010384812026
+ W.P.(C) 11942/2026 & CM APPL. 55365/2026
INDU PRAKASH SINGH .....Petitioner
Through: Mr. Satyakam, Senior Advocate along
with Mr. Talha Abdul Rahman, Mr.
Faizan Ahmad, Ms. Vibha
Swaminathan, Mr. Sudhanshu Tewari
& Mr. Rehan Ghalib Khan,
Advocates.
versus
GOVERNMENT OF THE NATIONAL CAPITAL TERRITORY OF
DELHI AND ORS .....Respondents
Through: Mr. Sanjay Vashishtha, Standing
Counsel along with Mr. Siddhartha
Goswami & Ms. Jasmine Morgat,
Advocates for Respondent No.2/ECI.
Mr. Anuj Chaturvedi, Ms. Richa
Dhawan, Ms. Yashita Jain & Mr.
Sahil Bhaskar, Advocates for
Respondent No.4/DUSIB.
CORAM:
HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE TEJAS KARIA
TEJAS KARIA, J. ( Oral )
1. The present Public Interest Litigation (“ PIL ”) Petition has been filed
with the following prayers:
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W.P.(C) 11942/2026 Page 1 of 12
Signed By:NEELAM
SHARMA
Signing Date:31.08.2026
18:44:21

“ a. Issue a writ of mandamus or any other writ, order or direction
directing the Respondents to formulate and implement a special
facilitative mechanism during the ongoing Special Intensive
Revision exercise for NCT of Delhi for the enrolment, or
transposition and/or retention of the names of homeless persons or
rendered homeless or displaced by demolition drives to ensure that
such persons are not excluded from the electoral rolls;
b. Issue a writ of mandamus or any other writ, order or direction
directing the Respondents to identify and enumerate persons who
are homeless or have been rendered homeless or displaced as a
consequence of demolition drives and who are likely to be affected
during the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls;
c. Issue a writ of mandamus or any other writ, order or direction
directing the Respondents to issue appropriate guidelines,
instructions or Standard Operating Procedures to all Chief
Electoral Officers, District Election Officers, Electoral Registration
Officers and Booth Level Officers for the implementation of such
facilitative measures, including through appropriate relaxation of
procedural requirements, field verification by Booth Level Officers,
special enrolment camps.
d. Issue a writ of mandamus or any other writ, order or direction
directing the Respondents to establish dedicated grievance redressal
and assistance mechanisms for electors rendered homeless or
displaced by demolition drives to enable them to effectively
participate in the Special Intensive Revision exercise;
e. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other writ, order or direction
invalidating the Election Commission of India Directive No.
23/2025-ERS (Vol. II) dated 14.05.2026 and the subsequent
communication dated 15.07.2026 to the extent that they mandate the
draft electoral roll to be prepared by 17.08.2026 without providing
adequate special facilitative mechanisms to ensure the inclusion of
the people who have been rendered homeless or displaced on the
account of the demolition drive. ”
2. Learned Senior Counsel appearing for the Petitioner submitted that
the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (“ SIR ”) exercise in Delhi, initiated
vide ECI Directive No. 23/2025-ERS (Vol. II) dated 14.05.2026, proceeds
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Signed By:NEELAM
SHARMA
Signing Date:31.08.2026
18:44:21

on the premise that Booth Level Officers (“ BLOs ”) would be able to
physically locate existing electors at their recorded addresses and as a
consequence, persons who are homeless or have been rendered homeless or
displaced pursuant to demolition drives are at serious risk of systematic
exclusion from the electoral rolls, thereby infringing their right to franchise
and casting doubt upon their citizenship. It is further submitted that such
exclusion is contrary to the acknowledged position of the Election
Commission of India (“ ECI ”) that homeless persons, who are citizens of
India but may not possess a permanent or fixed address, are nevertheless
entitled to be included in the voter list.
3. Learned Senior Counsel for the Petitioner further submitted that,
under the present SIR exercise, forms are being dispatched only to the
addresses recorded in the last Electoral Roll, which has given rise to several
practical difficulties faced by voters, such as:
a. Where the recorded premises have been demolished, the BLOs are
likely to mark the displaced electors as ‘shifted’ or ‘absent’.
b. Displaced individuals seeking regularisation of their electoral
registration through Form 8A for transfer or Form 6 for fresh
enrolment encounter substantial practical impediments.
c. Homeless persons, having no fixed premises and having lost
relevant documents, face difficulty in satisfying the ‘ordinarily
resident’ requirement under Section 20 of the Representation of
the People Act, 1950 (“ RP Act ”).
d. Relocated persons face further difficulty, as the rehabilitation
colonies are yet to be integrated into the electoral mapping
framework.
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Signed By:NEELAM
SHARMA
Signing Date:31.08.2026
18:44:21

e. There is no existing mechanism for identifying persons residing in
temporary shelters or on pavements.
f. Landlords are refusing to permit voter registration from rented
premises on the apprehension that such registration may give rise
to claims of possession.
4. Learned Senior Counsel for the Petitioner submitted that the SIR
mechanism, in its present form, amounts to a structurally discriminatory
practice violative of Article 326 of the Constitution of India, 1950
(“ Constitution ”), which guarantees universal adult suffrage. It was further
submitted that the said mechanism is contrary to the ECI’s 2011 Handbook
for Booth Level Officers, which expressly provides that homelessness is not
a disqualification for electoral enrolment and permits field verification at a
person’s place of shelter during night hours.
5. It is further submitted on behalf of the Petitioner that despite the
public acknowledgment by the Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi on
30.06.2026 that demolition-affected persons are ‘special cases’, no targeted
facilitative measures, special camps, or policy frameworks have been
devised to protect the franchise of the homeless persons, till date and, hence,
the ECI be directed to adopt reasonable facilitative measures to ensure that
the persons rendered homeless or displaced are not denied of their right to
vote simply because of circumstances beyond their control or on the basis of
their socio-economic status.
6. It was submitted on behalf of the Petitioner that prior to filing this
PIL, the Petitioner submitted a representation dated 10.07.2026
(“ Representation ”) to Respondent Nos. 2 and 3 to ensure that the persons
evicted under the demolition drive are not excluded under the SIR exercise.
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W.P.(C) 11942/2026 Page 4 of 12
Signed By:NEELAM
SHARMA
Signing Date:31.08.2026
18:44:21

However, no corrective action has been taken pursuant to the Representation
made by the Petitioner.
7. Learned Senior Counsel for the Petitioner submitted that there has
been a large-scale demolition drive in National Capital Territory of Delhi
(“ NCT of Delhi ”) in the last few years, especially since 2023, which was
conducted by Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, Delhi Development
Authority, Municipal Corporation of Delhi and Northern / Indian Railways.
Pursuant to the said demolition drive, a significant number of homeless
individuals, estimated around 3 lakhs have been rendered homeless although
no official figure exists for the same.
8. Learned Senior Counsel for the Petitioner further submitted that
during the SIR exercise, the BLOs were required to undertake ‘house-to-
house’ enumeration and distribute pre-filled Enumeration Forms to every
existing elector, guide electors in completing the Enumeration Forms,
collect the duly filled Enumeration Forms, verify the information furnished
and upload the Enumeration Forms to ECI Portal. It is further submitted that
the Electoral Registration Officer (“ ERO ”) was required to prepare a Draft
Electoral Roll containing the names of all existing electors, whose
Enumeration Forms have been received and following the publication of the
Draft Electoral Roll, a statutory period for claims and objections was
provided, during which the ERO was required to scrutinise the eligibility of
electors, issue notices wherever eligibility is in doubt, conduct inquiries, and
pass reasoned orders before finalising the Electoral Roll. It was also
submitted that any person not appearing on the Draft Electoral Roll may be
deleted without conducting any inquiry and affording the concerned
individual a fair and reasonable opportunity of being heard.
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Signed By:NEELAM
SHARMA
Signing Date:31.08.2026
18:44:21

9. Learned Senior Counsel for the Petitioner submitted that prior to last
elections in Delhi, large number of voters have been struck out without
following due process, which had significantly affected the voters’ right to
vote and to hold the Government accountable in a democratic manner. It was
also submitted that the voters, whose names were removed from the Voters’
List during the previous elections in Delhi, were required to be re-enrolled
and re-listed by the ECI.
10. Learned Senior Counsel for the Petitioner submitted that the homeless
or relocated people, on account of demolition, are structurally excluded from
the SIR exercise, owing to the methodology prescribed for its
implementation as the very design of the SIR exercise renders this class
susceptible to exclusion from the Draft Electoral Roll and consequently,
disenfranchisement.
11. Learned Senior Counsel for the Petitioner submitted that the homeless
persons can be classified into the following categories:
i. Category A – Persons having been rendered homeless upon
demolition comprising of Category A1: whose names appear in
Electoral Roll prepared during the last intensive revision and
Category A2: persons whose names do not appear in the said
Roll.
ii. Category B – Persons who have been re-located consequent
upon demolition comprising of Category B1: persons whose
names appear in the Electoral Roll prepared during the last
intensive revision and Category B2: persons whose names do
not appear in the said Roll.
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Signed By:NEELAM
SHARMA
Signing Date:31.08.2026
18:44:21

12. In view of the above, it was submitted by learned Senior Counsel for
the Petitioner that the BLOs, who are mandated to conduct house-to-house
visits, only visit the houses of the persons whose names already appear in
the last Electoral Roll as per the address recorded in that Roll. Once the
persons are not available at the address recorded in the last Electoral Roll,
they are marked as shifted, absent, deceased or duplicate. For the persons
whose names are not enumerated in the last Electoral Roll, no Enumeration
Form would be filled up and they will be excluded from the SIR exercise
without even having the opportunity to be enumerated. It was further
submitted on behalf of the Petitioner that the homeless persons are unlikely
to be mapped during the house-to-house enumeration process and even if
they are mapped, they face considerable difficulties in establishing that they
are ‘ordinarily residents’ at any place within the constituency, as required
under Section 20 of the RP Act, which provides that a person shall not be
deemed to be ordinarily resident in a constituency on the ground only that he
owns, or is in possession of, a dwelling house therein.
13. Learned Senior Counsel for the Petitioner submitted that the
disenfranchisement has already materialised in Delhi following the
demolition drive, resulting in exclusion of several electors from the Electoral
Roll prepared for the 2025 Delhi Legislative Assembly Elections. It was
further submitted that the displacement of such persons makes it impossible
for the BLOs to locate these persons, thereby depriving them of the
opportunity to submit the Enumeration Forms.
14. Learned Senior Counsel for the Petitioner relied upon the news report
dated 30.06.2026 published in the Indian Express, where the statement of
the Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi has been mentioned stating that the
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Signed By:NEELAM
SHARMA
Signing Date:31.08.2026
18:44:21

persons whose houses have been demolished, will not be at their given
address when the BLO goes there and in such cases, if someone’s name is
not in the Draft Electoral Roll, they can fill up Form 6 along with a
declaration of their new address. The news report also mentions another
statement of the Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi that if there have been
demolitions, then those are special cases and be dealt with separately.
Further, the statement mentions that the ECI is aware of this issue.
15. Learned Senior Counsel for the Petitioner submitted that in view of
the above, the ECI be directed to formulate and implement a special
facilitative mechanism during the SIR exercise for NCT of Delhi for
enrolment or transposition and / or retention of the names of persons, who
are homeless or displaced by demolition drives to ensure that such persons
are not excluded from the Electoral Roll.
16. Learned Counsel for the ECI submitted that there is no requirement to
pass a direction as sought by the Petitioner in view of the provisions
contained in Manual on Electoral Rolls (“ Manual ”) published in March,
2023, which provides in Chapter 8 thereof the procedure for determination
of ordinary residence. Clause 8.5 of the Manual provides as under:
“ 8.5 Homeless/pavement Dwellers – Homeless/the persons living
in sheds/pavement dwellers, who do not possess any documentary
proof of ordinary residence are eligible for enrolment in electoral
roll, provided they are ordinarily residing there, irrespective of the
fact whether that is a private property or pavement or an
encroachment on government land. In such case the Booth Level
Officer will visit the address given in Form 6 for more than one
night to ascertain that the homeless person actually sleeps at the
given place. However, to avoid an eventuality of a homeless foreign
national getting registered in electoral roll, the Election
Commission has directed that in all such cases where homeless
persons are registered in electoral rolls, a statement of such persons
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Signed By:NEELAM
SHARMA
Signing Date:31.08.2026
18:44:21

shall be recorded by the Booth Level Officer in which specific
information about the place of his birth and the place of previous
residence from where he has shifted to the present place of his
ordinary residence, of such a person shall be asked for. This will
help Electoral Registration Officer in deciding whether such a
person is an Indian citizen or not. ”
17. In view of the above, it was submitted by learned Counsel for the ECI
that there is already a provision for the homeless / pavement dwellers, who
do not possess any documentary proof of ordinary residence for their
enrolment in the Electoral Roll. The said provision provides that the BLO
will visit the address given in Form 6 for more than one night to ascertain
that the homeless person actually sleeps at the given place. Further, the
provision also stipulates that to avoid an eventuality of a homeless foreign
national getting registered in Electoral Roll, the BLO will record a statement
of such persons disclosing the information about the place of birth and place
of previous residence. Accordingly, it was submitted on behalf of ECI that
there is no vacuum as submitted by the Petitioner as regards the inclusion of
the persons, who are homeless in the Electoral Rolls during the SIR
exercise.
18. Learned Counsel for the ECI also referred to an order passed by the
Hon’ble Supreme Court dated 23.02.2026 in the matter of Sana Parveen &
Ors. v. Election Commission of India & Ors. , W.P.(C) No. 191/2026 filed
under Article 32 of the Constitution filed by the persons, who claimed
themselves to be residents of a colony which was demolished, whereby their
names were excluded on account that after the demolition drive, they did not
have identified residential address. The Hon’ble Supreme Court held that
having regard to the seriously disputed questions of fact, the said writ
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W.P.(C) 11942/2026 Page 9 of 12
Signed By:NEELAM
SHARMA
Signing Date:31.08.2026
18:44:21

petition under Article 32 of the Constitution cannot be entertained and
directed the persons to approach the District BLO to ascertain the facts and
to take remedial action as per law. Accordingly, it was submitted by learned
Counsel for the ECI that if anybody is affected due to demolition drive, they
can approach the ECI or District BLO for inclusion of their names by
providing the new address by filling up Form 6, whereafter the BLO will
visit the place of their new residence for more than one night to ascertain
that the person actually sleeps at the given place.
19. Learned Counsel for the ECI relied upon an extract of the Draft
Electoral Roll showing the list of homeless persons with their name,
photograph, age and gender and in place of house number, showing ‘0’. It
was submitted on behalf of the ECI that this shows that the homeless
persons are also included in the Draft Electoral Roll during the SIR exercise.
20. Learned Counsel for the ECI submitted that the SIR exercise for Delhi
has already been concluded and if the Petitioner has any specific instance of
the persons, who have been rendered homeless due to demolition drive, the
Petitioner can approach the ECI and the same can be considered in
accordance with law.
21. A copy of the Manual published by the ECI in March, 2023 and an
extract of the Draft Electoral Roll for homeless persons, as submitted by the
learned Counsel for the ECI, are taken on record.
22. Having considered the submissions on behalf of learned Senior
Counsel for the Petitioner as well as learned Counsel for the ECI, we are of
the considered opinion that the Manual already provide process for
determination of the ordinary residence in accordance with the RP Act for
homeless persons as per Clause 8.5 of the Manual. Therefore, the
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Signed By:NEELAM
SHARMA
Signing Date:31.08.2026
18:44:21

apprehension of the Petitioner that the homeless persons shall be excluded
from the Draft Electoral Roll appears to be without any basis.
23. The Petitioner has made bald averments with regard to the exclusion
of the persons, who have been rendered homeless due to demolition drive
conducted in Delhi over the last several years. The Petitioner has also stated
that prior to the last Assembly Elections held in Delhi, several homeless
persons affected due to demolition drive were excluded from the Electoral
Roll, however, the Petitioner does not mention any particulars or the
numbers of the persons, who still remain excluded from the Electoral Roll
subsequent to the last Assembly Elections in Delhi.
24. Assuming that any elector has been excluded from the Electoral Roll
on account of demolition or relocation from his existing place of ordinary
residence, such person is entitled to fill up Form 6 issued by ECI under
Rules 13(1) and 26 of Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 (“ Rules ”). The
Manual clearly provides that once the details are provided by homeless
persons in Form 6, the BLO will visit the address given therein for more
than one night to ascertain that the homeless person actually sleeps at the
given place. Accordingly, the prayer for issuing direction to the ECI to
formulate and implement special facilitative mechanism during the SIR
exercise for NCT of Delhi for enrolment, or transposition and / or retention
of the names of the homeless persons due to demolition drives to include
them in the Electoral Roll, is not required to be granted in our considered
view as such mechanism is already in place.
25. Further, the extract of the Draft Electoral Roll placed on record by
learned Counsel for the ECI clearly showing the category of homeless
persons with their name, age, gender and photograph, showing the house
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Signed By:NEELAM
SHARMA
Signing Date:31.08.2026
18:44:21

number as ‘0’ clearly demonstrates that the ECI is already implementing the
process of inclusion of the homeless persons in the Draft Electoral Roll as
provided in the Manual during the SIR exercise.
26. In view of the above, we do not find any vacuum as alleged by the
Petitioner given that the existing mechanism for inclusion of the names of
the homeless persons is found to be adequate and being implemented by the
ECI. Accordingly, none of the prayers sought in the present Petition
deserves to be granted. As a result, the present Petition is dismissed. Pending
Application also stands disposed of.
TEJAS KARIA, J
DEVENDRA KUMAR UPADHYAYA, CJ
AUGUST 19, 2026/sms
Signature Not Verified
W.P.(C) 11942/2026 Page 12 of 12
Signed By:NEELAM
SHARMA
Signing Date:31.08.2026
18:44:21