Every controversy over rolls, funding, or machines traces back to the same question: how much should the referee be allowed to reshape the game? This deep dive maps the major reform waves — and why so many recommendations remain on paper.
The reform waves
1990 · Dinesh Goswami Committee
State funding of elections, curbing booth capture, anti-defection tightening. Led to the 1996 RP Act amendments.
1998 · Indrajit Gupta Committee
Partial state funding in kind for recognised parties — endorsed in principle, never implemented.
1996–2003 · Conduct reforms
Campaign period cut to 14 days; candidate cap per person set at two seats; EVMs rolled out nationwide (2004); postal ballots for service voters.
2015 · Law Commission, 255th Report
Funding transparency, paid news as electoral offence, strengthening the ECI's independence via a collegium-style appointment.
2023–24 · Appointments & bonds
CEC and ECs Act, 2023 replaces the Anoop Baranwal collegium; SC strikes down electoral bonds (Feb 2024).
One statute, many battles
Nearly every recent case is a fight over a specific section of the Representation of the People Acts — the same two statutes from 1950–51.
RP Act 1950 — who may vote
Preparation and revision of electoral rolls (Ss. 15–25).
→ Special intensive revision (2025–26)
Challenged in SC: does S.21 permit shifting the burden of proof onto existing voters? Today's story →
RP Act 1951 — who may contest, and how
Qualifications, disqualifications, corrupt practices, party registration.
→ S.33A/33B: candidate disclosure
Added after ADR (2002); Parliament's attempt to dilute it struck down in PUCL (2003).
→ S.8(4): sitting-legislator shield
Struck down in Lily Thomas (2013) — conviction now disqualifies immediately.
→ S.29C: donation disclosure
Amended in 2017 to exempt electoral bonds — the exemption fell with the bonds in 2024.
Reform by court order
Many of the biggest changes came not from Parliament but from the Supreme Court — often against the government's stated position.
2002–03
ADR & PUCL: candidates must disclose criminal cases, assets, and education — voters' right to know under Article 19(1)(a).
2013
Lily Thomas: instant disqualification on conviction — Section 8(4) protection for sitting legislators struck down. PUCL: NOTA introduced.
2019
VVPAT verification: mandatory paper-trail count in 5 EVMs per assembly segment.
2023–24
Anoop Baranwal: collegium for EC appointments (later replaced by statute). Electoral bonds struck down as unconstitutional.
By the numbers
46%
of MPs elected in 2024 declared criminal cases (ADR)
₹16,518 cr
sold in electoral bonds before the 2024 verdict
Three unfinished agendas
The roll. Who bears the burden of proving eligibility — the state or the voter? Intensive revisions, Aadhaar linkage, and NRI voting all turn on this. The current special intensive revision is the live test case.
The money. After bonds were struck down, no replacement disclosure regime exists. Corporate donation caps remain diluted since 2017.
The referee. Appointment, removal protection, and independent secretariat for Election Commissioners — recommended since Goswami, still pending for two of three members.
Why reforms stall
The pattern is consistent: reforms that constrain candidates (disclosure, disqualification) come from courts; reforms that constrain parties (funding, inner-party democracy) require Parliament — where every party benefits from the status quo. The ECI has sent 22 pending proposals to the Law Ministry, some dating to 2004, including a cooling-off period for retiring commissioners and the power to de-register parties.
Exam angle
Prelims: Goswami · Indrajit Gupta · 255th Law Commission report · Lily Thomas & PUCL (2013) · NOTA · CEC and ECs Act 2023 · Anoop Baranwal (2023) · electoral bonds verdict (2024).
Mains (GS-II): "Electoral reform in India has fixed the conduct of elections but not their financing or refereeing." Critically examine.
Previous year questions
Prelims 2017
Right to vote and to be elected in India is a — (a) Fundamental Right (b) Natural Right (c) Constitutional Right (d) Legal Right. Ans: (d)
Mains GS-II · 2024
Examine the need for electoral reforms as suggested by various committees, with particular reference to the "one nation – one election" principle.
Mains GS-II · 2022
Discuss the role of the Election Commission of India in the light of the evolution of the Model Code of Conduct.
Mains GS-II · 2017
To enhance the quality of democracy in India, the Election Commission of India has proposed electoral reforms in 2016. What are the suggested reforms, and how far are they significant to make democracy successful?
