‘What are you doing?’ Bombay HC’s Goa Bench raps EC over voter deletions

A Bombay high court bench raised concerns over the Election Commission’s handling of the SIR.

NEW DELHI: The Bombay high court’s Goa bench on Monday “reminded” the Election Commission of India (ECI) that “it has an obligation to ensure that eligible Indian citizens are included” in the final electoral roll, questioning the purpose of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) if voters are being removed from the list.“But what are you doing? If citizens are being removed from the list then what is the purpose of this entire SIR process?” a division bench of Justices Valmiki Menezes and Amit Jamsandekar, was quoted as saying by Live Law.The court’s remarks came while examining concerns over voter deletions during the SIR exercise. The bench referred to observations made by the Supreme Court that ensuring the inclusion of Indian citizens in the final voter list is the ECI’s responsibility.The comments was in the backdrop of the wider legal challenge to the voter revision exercise, with concerns being raised over the manner in which names could be excluded from electoral rolls.

Maharashtra HC declines urgent intervention

Meanwhile, the Bombay high court’s principal bench in Mumbai refused to pass an urgent interim order stopping the deletion of voters’ names in Maharashtra under the SIR process.A bench comprising Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna said the issue was already before the Supreme Court and that it would not be appropriate for the high court to conduct parallel proceedings or issue orders on the matter.The court was hearing a petition filed by Sagar Ramesh Gawai, youth wing president of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, founded by former MP Prakash Ambedkar.The petition alleges procedural violations and arbitrary exclusion of voters during the door-to-door enumeration exercise being carried out as part of the SIR in Maharashtra. It has also sought greater transparency and compliance with provisions of the Representation of the People Act.

Petition seeks safeguards before voter deletion

The petitioner has opposed unilateral deletion of names from electoral rolls and sought a formal hearing before an Electoral Registration Officer, followed by a reasoned or speaking order, before any voter is removed.Senior advocate Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, appearing for the ECI, told the court that the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the SIR matter concerning Maharashtra and other states and Union Territories on October 8.

The high court said it would amount to judicial impropriety to examine the same issue simultaneously. It also noted that the Supreme Court had specifically requested High Courts not to conduct parallel proceedings concerning the SIR exercise.Prakash Ambedkar, appearing for the petitioner, sought an interim direction preventing any further deletion of names from the electoral rolls. The high court declined to grant the relief at this stage and posted the matter for hearing after three weeks.