Bombay High Court declines to stay deletion of names from voters’ list in Maharashtra

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An outer view of Bombay High Court. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Bombay High Court on Monday (October 5, 2026) declined to pass orders to stay the deletion of names from the voters’ list in Maharashtra during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and said it would follow the directive of the Supreme Court.

The court was hearing a petition that sought transparency in the methodology used during the SIR and its basis in law. While it stated that it did not seek to stop the SIR, it called for safeguards against the exclusion of eligible voters. It also said that the Election Commission (EC) can make assessments on matters related to elections, but cannot determine citizenship..

The petition also asked for the restoration of deleted names to the voters’ list and argued that while the EC’s instructions for Maharashtra do not permit the collection of documents during enumeration, booth-level officers had asked people for documents when receiving enumeration forms.

A division bench of Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna heard the matter. The court was told that the Supreme Court had, in November 2025, barred all High Courts from hearing petitions that challenge the validity of SIR or aspects of the process. The bench said the Supreme Court was already hearing challenges to the SIR and that parallel litigation would serve no purpose.

Advocate Prakash Ambedkar, for the petitioner, asked the court to direct that authorities not remove names from the voters’ list at this stage. The judges declined the request. The bench adjourned the hearing for four weeks.

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