Citizenship not ECI’s job: Former Supreme Court judge Sudhanshu Dhulia

As noted by The Indian Express, citizenship not ECI's job: Former Supreme Court judge Sudhanshu Dhulia Justice Dhulia additionally described as "a serious matter" the two Election Commissioners objecting on record 14 times in 10 months to steps taken by the Chief Election Commissioner.

Key points

• 4 min read New Delhi Updated: Sep 28, 2026 05: 52 AM IST.
• Justice (retd) Sudhanshu Dhulia was at the Idea Exchange.
• But a voter has to be a citizen of this country.

Justice (retd) Sudhanshu Dhulia was at the Idea Exchange. (Express photo by Renuka Puri).

According to Former Supreme Court judge Sudhanshu Dhulia has, the apex court has laid down the law in a number of judgments on citizenship and it "is not the Election Commission of India's job".

As noted by The Indian Express, justice Dhulia, who retired from the Supreme Court in August 2025, additionally described as "a serious matter" the two Election Commissioners objecting on record 14 times in 10 months to steps taken by the Chief Election Commissioner.

Responding to a question at the Idea Exchange Friday on his remark during an SIR hearing in July 2025 that "citizenship is an issue to be determined not by the Election Commission of India, but by the Ministry of Home Affairs", Justice Dhulia remarked: "This is the law laid down by the Supreme Court in a number of earlier judgments: this is not the Election Commission of India's job. But a voter has to be a citizen of this country. The difficulty is the enormous conditions that have been imposed. When I was hearing the matter, nobody had asked for a stay, so why offer one? They were only asking for Aadhaar and voter cards to be accepted, so we remarked fine. That's regarding all I did. It they agreed to."

Taken together, the developments around citizenship not ECI's job: Former Supreme Court judge Sudhanshu Dhulia point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.