Bombay High Court to hear petition over Maharashtra voter list revision

The Bombay High Court has scheduled a hearing for October 5 regarding a petition challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in Maharashtra. The petition, filed by leaders of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, seeks to address alleged flaws in the revision process and demands safeguards to prevent the wrongful removal of eligible voters.

Petitioners claim there is a risk that approximately 2.10 crore citizens could be removed from the state's voter rolls. While the Election Commission noted that approximately 2.07 crore voters had incomplete enumeration forms in draft lists, the Commission clarified that this does not equate to final removal.

The legal challenge calls for greater transparency regarding the legal basis and authority behind the SIR process. It further argues that while the Election Commission can conduct voter verification, it cannot unilaterally determine citizenship; such matters should be referred to competent authorities under the Citizenship Act of 1955. Additionally, the petition requests that instructions be issued in multiple languages and that both online and offline methods be made available for document verification and corrections.