Voter Roll Legal Challenge
Bombay High Court Hears Multiple Petitions Challenging Maharashtra Voter Roll Revision
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Election Commission officials say 2.73 crore voters aged 18–28 have been added to electoral rolls since the Special Intensive Revision began in 2025, and eligible citizens can also register through continuous updates. Two petitions challenging the revision are before the Bombay High Court, seeking measures including restoration of deleted names and safeguards for legally compliant rolls. One petition alleges unilateral administrative decisions, changes to Form 6, voter-data and software problems, and objections by two Election Commissioners; it also seeks disclosure or cancellation of key orders, an independent inquiry and a halt to the exercise, with petitioners calling for elections to be postponed until fresh rolls are prepared. Separately, two Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi leaders seek transparency, notice and hearing protections, accessible ways to verify voter details and an appeals process, while saying they do not seek to stop the revision or challenge the Election Commission’s authority.
Key Points
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One petition alleges that a declaration field was added to Form 6 in July 2026 despite an Election Commissioner’s view that the form could not be changed without amending the rules. The petition says a request by two commissioners for a panel meeting to review the change was not acted on before the file was marked “Approved by ECI” and sent to the press.
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The Kolhapur petition further alleges that control of the voter database was moved from State servers to the Election Commission’s IT division in New Delhi, and that software prevented electoral registration officers from overriding deletions.
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The petitioners also seek disclosure of the criteria for polling-station rationalisation and the ECINET specifications, in addition to the 14 SIR-related decisions and the commissioners’ dissent notes.
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