UN Experts Raise Concerns Over Voter Roll Deletions in India, Seek Govt Reply

Three United Nations-appointed experts have written to the Indian government expressing concerns over alleged discrimination against minorities during the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, particularly in West Bengal. The letter, dated May 1, seeks information on steps taken to ensure the process aligns with India's obligations under international human rights law.

The UN Special Rapporteurs on minority issues, freedom of expression, and freedom of religion — Nicolas Levrat, Irene Khan, and Nazila Ghanea — raised allegations that Bengali and Muslim electors were targeted during the SIR exercise. They asked the government to detail measures preventing eligible voters from being excluded from the 2026 Assembly polls.

“We are particularly concerned by the way in which the SIR process has been conducted, notably the reported removal of millions of voters’ names from electoral rolls, potentially affecting a great number of Muslims and persons of Bengali descent, as well as other minorities,” the letter said. It noted that these communities have historically been treated as foreigners or illegal immigrants, especially in West Bengal.

Emails sent to the Ministry of External Affairs and the Election Commission seeking comment did not receive a response.

The letter follows complaints submitted to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in August 2025 and April 2026 by the Independent Panel for Monitoring Indian Elections, a group of academics. The panel includes Prof Neera Chandhoke, Dr Thomas Daffern, and Dr Harish Karnick.

Retired IAS officer M G Devasahyam, the panel's coordinator, said the group recently received a copy of the letter, which the Special Rapporteurs made public after 60 days as per their practice.

“Affected individuals of the second phase [of SIR] report being wrongfully excluded despite having provided valid identification. Muslim voters were reportedly disproportionately impacted by the SIR process… Minor spelling inconsistencies in documents – reportedly common across India due to administrative challenges – are allegedly used as a pretext for the deletion of voter names,” the letter stated.

Regarding the SIR exercise in Bihar, the letter said it caused alarm over possible large-scale disenfranchisement of Muslims and other minorities. It also voiced concerns about the alleged use of an AI-driven system to flag voter data irregularities, raising questions about transparency and potential bias.

The experts further flagged statements by political and government officials that appeared to reinforce discriminatory rhetoric. “Senior Government officials, including the Union Home Minister, have reportedly publicly framed the deletion of voter names as targeting ‘illegal Bangladeshi immigrants’ — rhetoric that conflates legitimate Indian Muslim citizens with foreign nationals,” the letter said.

The letter noted that the Home Minister, in Parliament, framed the electoral process in terms of removing a religious community, expressed through the policy formula “Detect, Delete and Deport.”

The Indian government has not yet responded to the UN experts' letter.