UN scrutinises India over ‘mass voter deletions’ targeting minorities

Three United Nations special rapporteurs have formally sought clarification from the government of India over serious allegations that millions of voters, particularly Muslims, were wrongfully removed from electoral rolls ahead of recent state elections. In a detailed joint communication dated 1 May 2026, the independent UN experts expressed grave concerns regarding a massive voter-deletion exercise that reportedly stripped approximately 52 million names from electoral registers across 12 Indian states and union territories. While the administrative purge affected some other linguistic and religious minorities, the experts highlighted that Muslim citizens bore the brunt of these sudden exclusions.

The joint mandate-holders, Nicolas Levrat, 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, warned that the state-administered actions may amount to severe violations of international human rights law. The letter specifically highlighted West Bengal, where 9.1 million names were deleted prior to assembly elections held in late April 2026.

According to the UN document, the large-scale purging occurred during a ‘Special Intensive Revision’ process launched by the Election Commission on 4 November 2025, spanning 321 districts and 1,843 assembly constituencies. In West Bengal’s Nandigram constituency, the rapporteurs noted that an alleged 95 percent of deleted voters were Muslim, despite the community comprising only a quarter of the local electorate. Many affected individuals included elderly nationals who held valid identity documents but were excluded due to minor spelling inconsistencies. The letter also raised alarm over the opaque use of an artificial intelligence-driven system that flagged ‘irregularities’ in voter data, warning that it introduced potential bias into a democratic process.

Compounding these technical issues, the UN experts highlighted highly discriminatory public rhetoric from senior government figures. The letter pointed out that the Union Home Minister publicly framed the voter deletions as a targeted effort against ‘illegal Bangladeshi immigrants’, a narrative the rapporteurs said conflates legitimate Indian Muslim citizens with foreign nationals. The minister also reportedly promoted a ‘Detect, Delete and Deport’ policy before Parliament, which the experts warned risks constituting an official endorsement of discriminatory attitudes toward Muslim citizens.

Although the Supreme Court of India intervened on 16 April to allow removed individuals to regain their voting rights if appellate tribunals approved their cases before the late April deadlines, the compressed timeframe proved disastrous. A massive influx of over 3.4 million appeals placed immense pressure on the local tribunals, resulting in a backlog that effectively excluded millions of eligible citizens from participating in the West Bengal elections. The UN experts concluded by reminding India of its commitments under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibits the advocacy of national, racial, or religious hatred.