Bombay High Court orders Election Commission to reinstate names of 97 voters in Goa

The Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court has ordered the Election Commission of India (ECI) to re-add the names of 97 voters who were removed from the electoral roll during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The Court has granted the Election Commission 10 days to complete this process and directed that names be added after verifying addresses. The Court also dismissed the plea seeking a stay on the order passed by the Election Commission.

According to a report by Dainik Bhaskar, this legal dispute is linked to the Salgaocar family of Goa. The names of five members of this family had been removed from the voter list. Despite the family members applying by submitting Form 8 to change their addresses, their names were removed from the draft electoral roll during the SIR process. Challenging this decision, the family filed a petition in the High Court, raising objections against the removal of names and the rejection of the Form 8 application.

The Election Commission argued in this case that matters pertaining to SIR are pending in the Supreme Court, and therefore, the hearing of this case should be avoided. However, dismissing this argument, the High Court clarified that this Goa case is distinct, as the process of amending the electoral roll has already been completed here. The Court further emphasised that it is the constitutional responsibility of the Election Commission to prevent eligible citizens from being excluded from the voter list. The Court also noted that an opportunity for a hearing should be provided before names are removed.

Important points regarding the form process also emerged in this dispute. Form 6 is used for the registration of new voters, while Form 8 is used to correct or change the address in the records of already registered voters. For example, if a person wishes to become a voter for the first time, they must fill out Form 6, but if a person is already registered and their address has changed, they must fill out Form 8.

On the other hand, the Election Commission stated in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court that it has not made any changes to Form 6 of the SIR. The Commission clarified that the authority to make such changes lies with the Central Government as per the rules. The Commission also stated that all decisions were taken unanimously. The dispute regarding the SIR has been ongoing for the last one month.

The Election Commission is a constitutional body of the Government of India that organises and conducts elections in the country. It functioned independently and fulfilled the responsibility of maintaining the impartiality of the electoral process.