The Supreme Court of India offered oral assurances that eligible citizens whose names were excised during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Maharashtra will not face criminal prosecution for submitting Form 6 applications to reclaim their voting rights. The assurance addresses apprehensions that re-enrolling voters could face legal jeopardy under election laws if their initial removal had been flagged for verification irregularities.
A bench hearing civil rights petitions emphasized that the democratic franchise cannot be compromised by bureaucratic errors or aggressive disqualification procedures. Counsel appearing for disenfranchised electors highlighted that arbitrary deletions had excluded thousands of genuine residents from draft rolls, creating substantial anxiety that fresh enrollment applications might be misconstrued as fraudulent declarations.
The apex court directed election machinery across the state to handle Form 6 applications with institutional fairness and transparency, ensuring that genuine voters are reinstated ahead of upcoming assembly polls. Legal advocates welcomed the court’s clarification, noting that administrative safeguards must encourage citizen participation rather than deter vulnerable voters through threats of penal sanction.
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Sources:
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/maharashtra-sir-supreme-court-assures-no-deleted-voters-will-be-prosecuted-for-submitting-form-6/article71626077.ece