RAM NARESH TYAGI Vs. ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioners before this Court are aggrieved from deletion of their names from the electoral roll of the constituencies in which they claim to be residing. According to the petitioners, in the first week of March, 2009, they came to know of deletion of their names from the electoral roll. One of the voters of the locality namely Mr. Arun Tyagi approached this Court by filing a writ petition being W.P(C) No.7967/2009, inter alia, seeking reinstatement of his name as well as the names of other voters who had been subjected to similar treatment. The aforesaid writ petition was disposed of with liberty to Mr. Arun Tyagi to file an appeal under Section 24 of the Representation of Peoples Act. The appeal filed by him was dismissed on 25.9.2009. The order, dismissing the appeal, was assailed by Mr. Arun Tyagi by way of a writ petition being W.P(C) No.13779/2009 which came to be disposed of vide order dated 26.10.2010, whereby the writ petition was dismissed. Mr. Arun Tyagi challenged the order of dismissal of the writ petition by way of an LPA No.2/2011 titled Arun Tyagi Vs. Election Commission of India & Anr. which was allowed by this Court vide an order dated 4.4.2011. Pursuant to the order of the Division Bench, the name of Mr. Arun Tyagi was included in the electoral roll. The petitioners are now seeking restoration of their names in the electoral roll.

(2.) NO counter affidavit has been filed by the respondents, but it is not disputed that no hearing in terms of the provisions of Section 22 -C of the Representation of People's Act was given to the petitioners before deleting their names from the electoral roll. The learned counsel for respondent no.1, however, informs that the name of Mr. Arun Tyagi was also deleted from the electoral roll after giving an opportunity of hearing to him in terms of the order of the Division Bench in LPA No.2/2011, since it was found that the area in which he was living fell in the State of Uttar Pradesh and not in Delhi.

(3.) IT would thus be evident from a perusal of the aforesaid provisions that the names of a voter from the electoral roll can be deleted only after giving a reasonable hearing to the voter whose name is sought to be deleted from the said roll. Even if the information received by the concerned Electoral Registration Officer indicates that a particular voter is not residing in the constituency to which electoral roll pertains, must necessarily he be given an opportunity of hearing to such a voter, so as to enable him to appear before him and satisfy him that he continues to reside in the said constituency and, therefore, his name should not be deleted from the electoral roll.