UN Special Rapporteurs raise concerns over SIR and use of AI-driven models for exclusion of minorities
Geneva : Three United Nations Special Rapporteurs have expressed serious concern over the Election Commission of India’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), alleging mass deletion of Muslim voters through opaque AI-driven systems.
According to Kashmir Media Service, in a communication dated May 1, 2026, the Rapporteurs drew the attention of the Government of India to “the large-scale removal of millions of names from electoral rolls through an SIR process led by the ECI, particularly affecting members of minority groups.” The communication was issued by the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. The Indian government has been given 60 days to respond.
The UN report flags multiple issues with the SIR process, including the alleged use of opaque AI-driven systems that lack transparency and remedies, weak grounds for deletion such as spelling errors, inadequate time for voters to arrange documents, and what it calls “a political narrative aimed at the exclusion of minorities.”
It notes that senior government officials, including the Indian Home Minister, have reportedly framed the deletion of voter names as targeting “illegal Bangladeshi immigrants” — rhetoric that the Rapporteurs say conflates legitimate Indian Muslim citizens with foreign nationals.
The report specifically highlights the impact in West Bengal. It states that in Nandigram constituency, allegedly 95% of the deleted voters were Muslims, even though Muslims comprise only 25% of the electorate there.The Rapporteurs termed the alleged targeted deletions “serious violations of multiple human rights obligations.” They cited India’s commitments under the 1992 Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, pointing to potential violations of articles on non-discrimination, the right to vote, and minority rights.
The communication poses seven questions to the Indian government, including demands for disaggregated data on the religion and ethnicity of excluded voters, details of the appeals process, and information on remedies available to those wrongfully removed. A similar communication was sent by UN Special Rapporteurs in December 2018 during the compilation of the National Register of Citizens in Assam, when concerns were also raised about the exclusion of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. Under UN procedure, the communication and India’s response will be made public on the Special Procedures communications reporting website 60 days after it was sent, or sooner if the government replies within that period.
