Archive · 3 Oct 2026
Indore RTI Trail Raises Questions Over Voter Deletion Records
Dilip Kaushal asked election offices for records about many voter names removed from lists in Indore district in 2022.
The offices said they had not kept the digital records he requested.
Some said they had not been told to keep those records.
Kaushal appealed for the information.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court told the State Information Commission to decide his appeal.
The court said the decision should preferably come within 45 days after it receives a certified copy of its order.
The case is about whether records explaining voter-list changes are available.
The article says the deletions happened before the current voter-roll revision exercise.
Former Indore councillor Dilip Kaushal sought records concerning 1,36,552 voter deletions cited across Indore district between January 5 and October 15, 2022.
Constituency election offices largely replied that digital records relating to the Garud app and ERO Net had not been maintained.
Some offices said there had been no Election Commission instructions to keep the requested digital material; another described deletions as routine work under Commission instructions.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court directed the State Information Commission to decide Kaushal’s pending second appeal on its merits, preferably within 45 days of receiving the order.
Kaushal also raised concerns about deletion records across all 230 Madhya Pradesh Assembly constituencies in a 2025 complaint to election officials.
- Who
- Former Indore councillor Dilip Kaushal, constituency election officers, the Madhya Pradesh State Information Commission and the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
- What
- A dispute over an RTI request for records concerning 1,36,552 voter deletions and a court direction to decide Kaushal’s pending appeal.
- When
- The deletions cited in the request were between January 5 and October 15, 2022. Kaushal applied on May 23, 2025; the High Court order is dated September 17, with its year not specified in the article.
- Where
- Indore district, Madhya Pradesh.
- Why
- Kaushal sought records of voter-list changes, including digital material from the Garud app and ERO Net; officials said the requested records had not been maintained.
Transparency concerns
Election offices’ explanations
Availability of deletion records
Transparency concerns
Kaushal sought digital records and other material about voter-list changes, highlighting concerns over how deletion decisions can be documented and checked.
Election offices’ explanations
Constituency offices said they had not maintained the requested digital records; some cited a lack of instructions to keep them, while an office described the deletion process as routine work under Election Commission instructions.
- Deletions cited
- 1,36,552 across Indore district
- Period covered
- January 5 to October 15, 2022
- RTI application
- Filed by Dilip Kaushal on May 23, 2025
- Second appeal
- Pending since January 30, 2026, according to the article
- Court direction
- The State Information Commission must decide the appeal on its merits and in accordance with law, preferably within 45 days of receiving a certified copy of the order
- Largest constituency figures cited
- Indore-4: 28,391 deletions; Indore-5: 28,091
- Complaint to election officials
- Kaushal’s July 31, 2025 complaint raised concerns about records across all 230 Assembly constituencies