New Delhi: Three United Nations Special Rapporteurs have written to the Government of India expressing concern over allegations that millions of names were removed from electoral rolls during the Election Commission of India's (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, warning that the exercise may have disproportionately affected Muslims, Bengalis and other minority communities and could amount to violations of India's international human rights obligations.
The communication, dated May 1, 2026, and marked AL IND 8/2026, was signed by Nicolas Levrat, UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and Nazila Ghanea, Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. It was addressed to the Government of India under the UN Human Rights Council's Special Procedures.
The experts urged the Indian government to examine the allegations, provide detailed responses and ensure that the SIR exercise complies with international human rights standards governing political participation, non-discrimination and the protection of minority rights.
Despite legal challenges and criticism from opposition parties and civil society groups, the SIR process has entered its third phase, covering the entire country except Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
According to the communication, approximately 52 million names were allegedly removed from electoral rolls across 12 states and Union Territories, including 9.1 million names in West Bengal alone. The experts noted allegations that many affected individuals possessed valid identity documents but were nevertheless excluded from the voter lists.
The Special Rapporteurs said the revision exercise appeared to have disproportionately affected Muslim voters. They cited allegations from Nandigram constituency in West Bengal, where 95 per cent of deleted voters were reportedly Muslims, despite the community constituting only around 25 per cent of the electorate. The affected individuals reportedly included men, women and elderly Indian citizens with valid identity documents.
The communication further states that many of those excluded approached the Election Commission and the Supreme Court seeking relief. However, the Supreme Court declined to stay the SIR process on April 6, 2026.
The experts also highlighted allegations that minor spelling inconsistencies in official documents—described as common administrative issues in India—were used as grounds for deleting names from electoral rolls. In West Bengal alone, around 27 lakh people were reportedly excluded under the broad category of "logical discrepancies."
The communication also referred to concerns arising from an earlier SIR exercise in Bihar, which allegedly fuelled fears of large-scale disenfranchisement and denationalisation of Muslims and other minority communities.
Another major concern raised by the Rapporteurs relates to the reported use of an AI-driven system that allegedly flagged "irregularities" in voter data.
The experts said the reported deployment of artificial intelligence raised serious questions regarding transparency, possible errors and algorithmic bias. They warned that the use of AI in a high-stakes electoral exercise risked disenfranchising legitimate voters and undermining democratic fairness.
The communication notes that on April 16, 2026, the Supreme Court invoked its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to permit voters in West Bengal whose names had been removed to regain voting rights if their appeals were accepted before April 21 and April 27, ahead of the state's two-phase Assembly elections held on April 23 and April 29.
According to the UN experts, the Court directed the Election Commission to update supplementary electoral rolls for successful appellants while indicating that those whose appeals remained pending would not be permitted to vote.
Nevertheless, the Rapporteurs expressed concern that the revision exercise generated more than 3.4 million appeals, placing extraordinary pressure on tribunals to decide cases within an extremely short period, potentially resulting in millions of eligible voters being denied participation in the elections.
The communication also raises concerns over statements allegedly made by senior political leaders during the SIR process.
According to the letter, government officials, including the Union Home Minister, publicly framed the deletion of voter names as targeting "illegal Bangladeshi immigrants." The experts said such rhetoric appeared to conflate Indian Muslim citizens with foreign nationals. The communication also referred to repeated references to a policy of "Detect, Delete and Deport" in relation to the electoral process.
The Rapporteurs said such rhetoric could amount to advocacy of religious or national hatred prohibited under Article 20(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). They further warned that portraying a state-administered electoral exercise as one aimed at removing members of a particular religious community risked legitimising discriminatory attitudes toward Muslim citizens and could violate India's obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).
The Special Rapporteurs requested detailed information from the Government of India on seven issues, including measures taken to ensure that the SIR process complied with international human rights standards.
They also sought disaggregated data on the ethnicity and religion of individuals removed from electoral rolls or declared ineligible, or an explanation if such information was unavailable.
The communication further referred to India's obligations under international law, including the ICCPR and the 1992 UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities.
The experts recalled that Article 25 of the ICCPR guarantees every citizen the right to vote and participate in public affairs without unreasonable restrictions, while Article 27 protects the rights of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities.
They said voter registration procedures must be objective, reasonable and non-discriminatory, warning that the reported procedural burdens imposed by the SIR exercise appeared to have disproportionately affected Muslim citizens.
The Rapporteurs also cautioned that the compressed timeline, the reported lack of transparency surrounding the AI methodology, and the barriers faced by economically and linguistically marginalised communities in challenging their exclusion could amount to unreasonable restrictions on the right to vote under international human rights law.
The communication states that both the letter and any response from the Government of India will be made public after 60 days and may also feature in the UN Human Rights Council's periodic reporting process.
Meanwhile, the experts urged the Indian government to take interim measures to halt any ongoing violations, prevent their recurrence and ensure accountability if the allegations are substantiated.