2 hrs ago
Goa High Court Challenges Voter Deletions Under SIR Draft Roll
Six family members in Goa moved to another house in the same voting area.
They asked officials to update their address using Form 8.
The election software could not find their voter identity records.
Because of this, officials reportedly rejected their applications.
The family was then told to apply as if they were new voters.
The Bombay High Court said this did not make sense.
The judges also asked whether voters can be removed without being given a chance to explain.
They said computer systems cannot replace the legal process.
The court warned that many other voters could face similar problems.
The Bombay High Court’s Goa bench said a draft SIR roll cannot alone justify deleting voters’ names.
The case concerns six family members who moved homes within Goa’s Santa Cruz Assembly constituency.
Officials reportedly rejected their Form 8 applications after ERONET could not find their EPIC records.
The family was told to file Form 6, although that form is intended for new voter registration.
The court questioned deletions without hearings and said statutory requirements must override software limitations.
- Who
- The Bombay High Court’s Goa bench, the Election Commission of India, and six members of a family led by Paresh Salgaonkar.
- What
- The court questioned the deletion of the family’s voter names and said a draft electoral roll or software rejection cannot by itself justify deletion without following legal procedure.
- Where
- At the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court, concerning the Santa Cruz Assembly constituency in Goa.
- When
- The observations were made while the court heard the petition on Wednesday; the articles do not provide a calendar date.
- Why
- The family’s Form 8 address-change applications were reportedly rejected after ERONET could not find their EPIC records, leading officials to treat them as deleted voters.
Court’s legal concerns
Election-system explanation
Basis for deletion
Court’s legal concerns
The court said the SIR draft roll cannot itself be used to delete names and demanded the legal provision allowing deletion without a hearing.
Election-system explanation
The petitioners said officials treated the family’s EPIC records as deleted after ERONET could not find them during processing.
Handling Form 8 applications
Court’s legal concerns
The court said authorities must independently apply their judgment to determine whether an existing voter actually moved residence.
Election-system explanation
The ECI’s explanation, as reported, was that the software left officials with no option but to reject the Form 8 applications.
Use of Form 6
Court’s legal concerns
The court and petitioners said requiring existing voters to use Form 6 undermined the purpose of the statutory forms, since Form 6 is for fresh inclusion.
Election-system explanation
Officials directed the family to submit Form 6 because the system did not provide an option to review or restore the reportedly deleted EPIC records.
Key facts
- Court
- Bombay High Court’s Goa bench
- Bench
- Justice Amit S Jamsandekar and Justice Valmiki Menezes
- Petitioners
- Six members of a family led by Paresh Salgaonkar
- Constituency
- Santa Cruz Assembly constituency, Goa
- Application submitted
- Form 8 for an address change
- Software involved
- ERONET, the Electoral Registration Officers’ Network
- Court concern
- Whether voter names can be deleted without a hearing
Quotes
Bombay High Court bench
The division bench of Justices Amit S. Jamsandekar and Valmiki Menezes hearing the voter-deletion petition.
“Show us from the Act…what empowers you to delete without hearing?… Your officers were helpless, and they just decided to throw it on the system. So, they recorded it in the order, saying that the system has rejected. We are very perturbed by this…we are just wondering how many more who have not come to court.”
deccanchronicle.com
“He was never a new voter. He was an existing voter. He became new for your system.”
deccanchronicle.com
Sources
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