Panaji. The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court has given important instructions to the Election Commission in the matter of deletion of names during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list. The court has ordered the re-inclusion of names of six members of a Goa family in the voter list. The Commission will have to complete this process within 10 days after confirming the residence of the voters concerned. The court also rejected the Election Commission's demand to stay its order.
A division bench of Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Amit Jamsandekar delivered the verdict on November 5. The case pertained to a petition filed by Paresh Salgaonkar, a resident of Santa Cruz assembly constituency in North Goa, and five other members of his family.
Form-8 was given for change of address
According to the petitioners, the family had changed their residence in the same assembly constituency. For this, he had submitted Form-8 for the purpose of modifying the address in the voter list. This form is used for change and other amendments in the address of a person already registered in the voter list.
The family alleged that Form 8 applications were not accepted and their names were not included in the voter list during the subsequent SIR. He was asked by the officials to fill Form 6 to register his name as a new voter. The family protested, saying they were not new voters but already registered voters and only wanted to change their address.
Court raised questions on the obligation to fill Form-6
During the hearing, the High Court raised questions on the process of the Election Commission. The bench said that if a voter gives Form-8 to change his address then why should he be forced to fill Form-6? The court also said that the enumeration form contains a declaration of continued residence at the old address. In such a situation, how can a person who has shifted from that address be expected to sign such a declaration?
The bench indicated that such applications may be kept pending instead of being rejected outright, so that names of genuine voters are not left out of the list.
What argument did the Election Commission give?
The Election Commission told the court that during SIR the voter list is prepared afresh. In such a situation, the absence of a person's name in the draft list does not technically mean removal of the name from the old record, but the name is not included in the new list.
The Commission's argument was that those whose names did not appear in the draft list should submit Form-6 as per the prescribed procedure. However, the High Court treated the petitioners' case as different from petitions challenging the SIR process in other states.
Instructions to add names in 10 days, commission did not get any stay
Accepting the petition, the court directed the concerned Electoral Registration Officer of Santa Cruz Assembly Constituency to include the names of the six petitioners in the voter list within 10 days after confirmation of residence.
The Election Commission's counsel sought a two-week stay on the order so that the Supreme Court could be approached. But the High Court rejected this demand. The bench clarified that the order to include names of voters in the list cannot be stayed.
Important decision amid debate on SIR process
This case from Goa brings to the fore questions related to the rights and administrative process of voters who change their address during the revision of electoral rolls. The court particularly emphasized that eligible voters should not be disenfranchised because of the process. At present the order has been given in the case of six petitioners. Its wider impact and detailed legal basis will be known only after the full written order of the court is issued.