Bombay High Court questions ECI over rejection of voter Form 8 applications

The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court has questioned the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding the rejection of Form 8 applications during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The court expressed concerns that outrightly rejecting these forms could lead to the exclusion of eligible voters from the electoral rolls.

The matter arose from a writ petition filed by six members of a family, including Paresh Salgaonkar, whose names were removed from the voters' list after they relocated to a new residence within the Santa Cruz assembly constituency. The petitioners stated they were instructed by a Booth Level Officer to submit Form 8 for an address change, but the applications were rejected because no records of their Electors Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) could be found during processing.

Justices Valmiki Menezes and Amit S Jamsandekar suggested that instead of rejecting the applications, the ECI could have kept the forms pending until the completion of the SIR exercise. The court noted that the objective of the Representation of the People Act is to ensure citizens can cast their votes, and expressed reservations about the current rejection process.