Why the Election Commission Cannot Deregister Political Parties

Overview

The Election Commission of India registers political parties under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. However, it lacks an express legislative mandate to deregister them when they turn inactive or violate electoral norms. This statutory asymmetry, reinforced by the Supreme Court in 2002, leaves the poll body unable to revoke party status outside three narrow exceptions. Dormant Registered Unrecognised Political Parties continue to multiply, claiming tax exemptions under Section 13A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 without contesting public elections.

The Election Commission of India initiated proceedings in June 2025 to delist 345 Registered Unrecognised Political Parties that failed to contest elections and proved physically untraceable.

Dormancy among political outfits has grown significantly across the country:

• Scale of Inactivity: As of June 2025, out of more than 2,800 Registered Unrecognised Political Parties registered with the Election Commission of India, only approximately 750 contested the 2024 Lok Sabha general elections, leaving roughly 70 percent electorally inactive according to the Election Commission of India.
• Physical Non-Existence: Physical verification drives across multiple States and Union Territories revealed that many registered organisations were operating from non-existent premises or had ceased functioning altogether.
• Administrative Crackdown: The poll body initiated administrative delisting under Article 324 of the Constitution against 345 non-compliant parties that had not contested a single assembly or parliamentary election since 2019.

Registered Unrecognised Political Parties are political associations registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 that have not secured recognised State or National party status.

Political parties in India fall into distinct statutory and administrative categories based on their electoral performance, governed by the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. An entity qualifies as a Registered Unrecognised Political Party (RUPP) if it satisfies any of the following criteria:

• The organisation is newly registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
• The party has never fielded candidates in assembly or parliamentary general elections since its registration.
• The outfit contested general elections but failed to secure the required vote percentage or seat thresholds mandated for recognition as a State or National party.

Statutory registration confers significant operational privileges on RUPPs. Registered unrecognised parties are entitled to eligibility for a common symbol across parliamentary or assembly constituencies and can field up to 20 star campaigners whose travel expenses are excluded from candidate expenditure ceilings under Section 77 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

Under Paragraph 16A of the Election Symbols Order, 1968, the Election Commission may suspend or withdraw the recognition of a National or State party for violating the Model Code of Conduct or defying lawful directions. Such an action downgrades the outfit to RUPP status, but does not cancel its underlying statutory registration.

Section 29A was inserted into the Representation of the People Act, 1951 by Parliament through the 1988 amendment to establish a formal party registration framework.

The Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1988 introduced Section 29A to govern the association of Indian citizens forming political parties. Under Section 29A(5), any association applying for registration must include a specific provision in its party constitution committing true faith and allegiance to the Constitution as by law established, and to the principles of socialism, secularism, democracy, and the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India.

The statute contains an inherent legislative gap:

• Presence of Inscription Powers: Section 29A(7) empowers the Election Commission of India to register an applicant association as a political party after examining its memorandum and constitutional documents.
• Absence of Expulsion Authority: The Representation of the People Act, 1951 contains no explicit statutory provision empowering deregistration, leaving the Commission without express authority to revoke a registration once granted.

Administrative bodies normally rely on Section 21 of the General Clauses Act, 1897, which states that the power to issue an order includes the inherent power to add to, amend, vary, or rescind that order. However, the application of this general statutory rule to party registrations remained legally contested until settled by the judiciary.

The Supreme Court of India established in the 2002 Indian National Congress case that the Election Commission exercises a quasi-judicial function when registering parties under Section 29A.

In Indian National Congress v. Institute of Social Welfare (2002) 5 SCC 685, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court examined whether the poll body held the inherent or incidental power to deregister a political party for violating constitutional provisions or election codes.

The apex court drew a clear distinction between administrative acts and quasi-judicial determinations:

• Quasi-Judicial Character: The process of determining an application under Section 29A requires the Commission to act judicially, evaluate compliance, and pass a reasoned order affecting legal rights.
• Inapplicability of General Clauses Act: The Supreme Court ruled that Section 21 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 does not apply to quasi-judicial orders, barring the Commission from invoking implied powers to review or cancel registrations.

The Supreme Court carved out three exceptional grounds where the Election Commission may cancel a political party's registration:

1. Fraud or Forgery: Where an association obtained registration through deliberate misrepresentation, deceit, or forged documentation.
2. Constitutional Renunciation: Where a political party amends its internal constitution to declare that it no longer maintains allegiance to the Constitution of India or democratic principles.
3. Statutory Ban: Where the Central Government declares a political party an unlawful association under special legislation such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Outside these three strict exceptions, the Election Commission cannot deregister any political party without express legislative sanction from Parliament.

Section 13A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 provides registered political parties a 100 percent tax exemption on income from property, investments, capital gains, and voluntary contributions.

Fiscal concessions under the tax code create strong economic incentives for setting up political parties that never contest elections. To avail of full tax exemptions under Section 13A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, registered parties must maintain audited books of accounts and submit expenditure reports.

Financial reporting requirements are tied directly to election law:

• Contribution Reports: Under Section 29C of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, political parties must submit an annual contribution report to the Election Commission detailing donations received exceeding twenty thousand rupees.
• Prerequisite for Tax Relief: Timely submission of the Section 29C report before the due date for filing income tax returns is a mandatory precondition for claiming 100 percent exemption under Section 13A.

Many non-functional RUPPs exploit these statutory shelters. Several entities operate primarily to channel voluntary contributions through banking channels, facilitate tax deduction claims for donors, and re-route funds without engaging in authentic democratic competition.

The Election Commission of India exercises administrative delisting powers under Article 324 of the Constitution to manage dormant parties without exercising statutory deregistration authority.

Because the poll panel cannot formally cancel a party's Section 29A registration, it relies on the mechanism of administrative delisting under its plenary constitutional superintendence powers. Delisting serves as an administrative sanitisation exercise rather than a legislative dissolution of the political entity.

Delisting disables an outfit's ability to claim common symbols or deploy star campaigners during election cycles. However, the party remains registered on paper under Section 29A unless struck down by a competent court or derecognised through legislative change.

The Law Commission of India recommended comprehensive statutory amendments in its 255th Report to empower the Election Commission to deregister persistently dormant political parties.

Expert bodies have repeatedly urged Parliament to bridge the statutory deficit regarding political party oversight:

• Law Commission 255th Report on Electoral Reforms (2015): The Law Commission recommended amending the Representation of the People Act, 1951 to grant the Election Commission express power to deregister a political party that fails to contest assembly or parliamentary elections for 10 consecutive years.
• Election Commission Reform Compendium (December 2016): The Election Commission submitted 47 electoral reform proposals to the Union Government, formally requesting Parliament to amend Section 29A of the RPA, 1951 to grant explicit powers to register and deregister political parties for non-compliance with election rules.
• National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC, 2002): The NCRWC recommended enacting a dedicated Political Parties (Registration and Regulation) Act to govern party formation, internal democracy, transparency in accounts, and structured deregistration.

Parliament has not yet enacted statutory amendments to incorporate these regulatory recommendations into election law.

Political finance integrity under Article 324 requires transparent party operations to prevent registered political outfits from acting as money-laundering vehicles.

The growth of dormant political parties presents serious ethical and governance challenges for Indian democracy:

• Evasion of Tax Duties: Utilising Section 13A tax exemptions without performing any public electoral function subverts the social contract of taxation and drains public revenue.
• Creation of Shell Entities: Dormant parties can act as financial pass-through conduits, masking the true origin and destination of unaccounted capital.
• Subversion of Democratic Equality: Exploiting statutory perks like concessionary campaign provisions without intending to contest elections undermines fair competition and public trust in the electoral system.

Institutional checks must ensure that the constitutional freedom to associate does not degenerate into a mechanism for financial opacity.

Parliament must amend the Representation of the People Act, 1951 to grant the Election Commission explicit statutory powers to cancel the registration of defaulting political parties.

A structured roadmap for reform involves three key institutional interventions:

1. Legislative Amendment to Section 29A: Parliament should introduce an explicit deregistration clause in the RPA, 1951, empowering the Election Commission to cancel party registration for continuous non-filing of audited accounts, persistent non-contestation, or gross financial fraud.
2. Adopting the 10-Year Inactivity Benchmark: Incorporating the Law Commission's proposal to automatically deregister outfits that fail to field candidates in any state or national election for a continuous span of 10 years would clean up electoral rolls without stifling genuine new political formations.
3. Automated Inter-Agency Data Integration: Establishing seamless electronic data sharing between the Election Commission of India and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) can ensure that any party failing to submit its Section 29C contribution report automatically forfeits Section 13A tax exemptions for that assessment year.

• The Election Commission of India holds the statutory authority to register political parties under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, but possesses no express legislative power to deregister them.
• In the 2002 Institute of Social Welfare verdict, the Supreme Court ruled that party registration is a quasi-judicial act, preventing the ECI from invoking implied powers under Section 21 of the General Clauses Act, 1897.
• The Supreme Court outlined only three exceptions for deregistration: fraud or forgery during registration, internal constitutional abandonment of allegiance to the Constitution of India, or a ban by the Central Government under special laws.
• To curb non-functional outfits, the Election Commission exercises administrative delisting under Article 324, stripping dormant parties of common symbol privileges and star campaigner quotas without formal statutory deregistration.
• As of 2025, roughly 70 percent of over 2,800 registered RUPPs remained electorally inactive, with only around 750 contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
• The Law Commission's 255th Report (2015) recommended amending the RPA, 1951 to grant the ECI explicit power to deregister parties that do not contest elections for 10 consecutive years.