Petition before Bombay High Court to quash orders by CEC Gyanesh Kumar, restore voters deleted in SIR

A petition has been filed before the Kolharpur Bench of the Bombay High Court seeking restoration every voter deleted from the electoral rolls in Maharashtra during the most recent Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

The plea has also sought quashing of fourteen administrative orders passed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar during the past ten months that the Indian Express recently reported were objected to by two Election Commissioners.

The Indian Express report stated that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on at least 14 occasions concerning various decisions and administrative processes of the Election Commission.

The national rollout of the SIR was being carried out under the supervision of CEC Kumar and Election Commissioners Sandhu and Joshi.

The petition before the Bombay High Court contends that Kumar failed to faithfully discharge his official duties and therefore, no protection can be extended to any of his actions while in office.

The petition, which has now been filed by three residents of Maharashtra, raises concerns regarding the unilateral manner in which these decisions were allegedly made by the ECI and CEC.

The petition claims that the objections raised by the two Election Commissioners relate to voter registration, deletion and restoration of voters’ names, the electoral-roll database, the functioning of Electoral Registration Officers, and software-related processes.

They argue that the Election Commission has not discharged its functions in accordance with Section 18 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023.

The petition also challenges certain changes made to Form 6 in July this year.

The petitioners have thus sought the quashing of the fourteen administrative orders, a stay on the SIR process in Maharashtra, and restoration of the names of voters whose names were deleted during the SIR exercise.

They have also sought orders to postpone the upcoming State Assembly Elections in all States where SIR was carried out, until fresh and legally compliant electoral rolls are approved in accordance with law.

The petitioners have further sought the constitution of an independent judicial committee, headed by a retired Judge of the High Court, to investigate the data deletions and software blockages implemented during the recent SIR process.

The petitioners are being represented by advocates Asim Sarode, Shriya Awale, Saklen Mujawar, Sudarshan Kelgane, Arya Rajebhosale, Tripti Gaikwad, Prerna Bansode, Rishikesh Palwade, and Sachin Banait.