New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to extend the deadline for filing documents, including claims and objections, for people seeking inclusion in Maharashtra’s voter rolls under the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana issued notice to the ECI, seeking its response to a plea filed by petitioner Arun Anandagiri. The plea alleged that 33% of voters had been deleted from the state’s electoral rolls during the SIR exercise.
Senior Advocate Arvind Datar, appearing for the petitioner, informed the bench that around 3,500 redevelopment projects were underway in Bombay and Pune. The demolition of old housing colonies has led to the relocation of thousands of people whose names are at risk of deletion due to missing addresses and other details.
Datar also sought directions for the ECI to introduce a fresh form for people whose names were already on voter lists during previous elections. “Asking existing voters to fill Form 6 is incorrect; Form 6 is meant for registration of new voters, not for voters who are already enrolled,” he submitted.
The counsel sought an extension of the deadline for filing claims and objections, which was Monday, and requested that the finalisation of the voter list be stayed until the Court heard the matter.
The Court declined to extend the deadline immediately but assured the counsel that it would hear the case soon and issue directions if an extension was necessary.
“Don’t worry. You are a whistleblower. You have come to us. Don’t worry. We can always extend the date. If we find that there are people who are yet to file their documents, we will. We have been extending dates in earlier (SIR) matters also,” the CJI said.
The Court will hear the case on November 5.
The ECI had earlier extended Maharashtra’s SIR schedule. The deadline for claims and objections was moved from September 30 to October 12. The final electoral roll, initially scheduled for November 4, was subsequently revised to November 12, while disposal of claims and objections was to continue until November 10. The full roll was also stated to be scheduled for publication on November 16, 2026.
