Big decision on voter list: Gujarat High Court said – State Election Commission does not have independent right to add or remove names.

Bureau Prayagraj- Gujarat High Court, while giving an important decision, made it clear that the State Election Commission does not have the independent right to add or remove names from the voter list. The Commission only works to adopt (model) the voter list of the assembly constituency.

The High Court made this comment while hearing a petition in which a woman had sought inclusion of her name in the list to participate in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation elections. Let us tell you, the woman’s name was not included in the initial list, but later her application was accepted.

Justice N.S. Sanjay Gowda and Justice J.L. Odedra’s division bench said, “The contention of the State Election Commission that the petitioner’s name was added after the preliminary list was published, hence he cannot be included, is incoherent and meaningless. The function of the Commission is only to adopt the electoral list of the Assembly and not to make changes in it independently.”

According to the case, the woman’s name was not earlier in the voter list of the concerned assembly constituency, which is the basis of the voter list of the Municipal Corporation. She applied to add her name on March 23, 2026, which was accepted on April 1, 2026.

The court said that legally this means that the woman’s name will be considered valid in the voter list of the assembly. Since the Municipal Corporation’s list is based on it, it gets the right to participate in the voting and election process.

The High Court also noted that the woman’s application was accepted before the last date of nomination, hence she cannot be debarred from participating in the elections.

The High Court said in its order that the petitioner has proved his case strongly and his name should be included in the voter list of Sabarmati Ward No. 4. Along with this, he will also get the right to participate in the election process.