Citizenship
▪ Constitutional Basis for Voter Eligibility
✓ Citizenship is mandatory to be an elector and a legislator in India.
✓ Article 326: Only Indian citizens aged 18+ are eligible to vote.
✓ Article 324: Empowers the Election Commission of India (ECI) to supervise electoral roll
preparation and elections.
▪ Legal Framework: Representation of the People Act, 1950
✓ Section 16(1)(a): Disqualifies non-citizens from being registered as voters.
✓ Section 16(2): Allows deletion of names if found to be non-citizens.
✓ Sections 21–24: Deal with preparation, correction, and appeal processes related to electoral rolls.
ECI’s Duty and Authority
▪ ECI must verify and remove names of non-citizens if there is any complaint or doubt.
▪ Failure to do so is a dereliction of constitutional duty.
▪ Electoral rolls containing names of non-citizens are void ab initio.
▪ Citizenship and Legislative Membership
✓ Article 102(1) (d) and Article 191: Disqualify non-citizens from becoming MPs and MLAs
respectively.
▪ Citizenship Act, 1955 Provisions
✓ Section 7A: Allows registration of Overseas Citizens of India (OCI).
✓ Section 7B(2): OCIs cannot register as voters.
▪ Supreme Court Judgment
✓ Dr. Yogesh Bhardwaj case (1990): Only lawful residence counts; illegal stay does not qualify as ordinary residence for any legal benefit.
