Supreme Court Sets Nov. 5 Hearing on Maharashtra Voter Rolls

The Supreme Court of India issued notice to the Election Commission of India on a petition challenging Maharashtra’s voter-roll revision and scheduled a hearing for November 5, 2026, a day before the reported publication of the draft roll. During the hearing on October 26, Chief Justice Surya Kant orally assured the petitioner that voters whose names were deleted would not face prosecution merely for applying to re-register using Form 6. The assurance addressed a concern raised by senior advocate Arvind Datar, who argued that the form is meant for first-time voters and that previously enrolled voters should have a separate process. Datar, appearing for petitioner Arun Anandagiri, alleged that 33% of Maharashtra’s roughly nine crore voters had been removed from the rolls. He also cited deletions linked to logical discrepancies and said residents displaced by redevelopment in Mumbai and Pune could be at risk of being marked absent. These figures and concerns were presented by the petitioner and have not been independently established in the reported court proceedings. The petition challenges the Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, and seeks to prevent the process from continuing...