Supreme Court Assures Deleted Voters Protection During Maharashtra Roll Revision

The Supreme Court of India orally assured Monday that voters displaced by redevelopment projects and forced to apply for re-registration will face no prosecution.

The bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant addressed concerns during a hearing on a public interest litigation challenging voter deletions in Maharashtra.

Senior advocate Arvind Datar, representing petitioner Arun Anantagiri, told the court that thousands of residents were marked absent after old buildings underwent reconstruction.

"Old residential buildings are undergoing redevelopment for new flats," said Arvind Datar, the senior advocate.

Datar stated that 3,500 such building projects took place in Mumbai and 1,500 in Pune, leaving residents removed from the electoral rolls.

The lawyer argued that deleted voters must submit Form 6, which is designed exclusively for new applicants seeking registration.

"If he fills Form 6, which is meant for registration of fresh voters, then he would face prosecution for false declaration," said Arvind Datar, the senior advocate.

Chief Justice Kant responded directly to the legal concerns raised during the proceedings in New Delhi.

"Do not worry. Nobody will be prosecuted," said Surya Kant, the Chief Justice of India.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India filed an affidavit clarifying that it altered no statutory forms.

The poll body explained that an additional declaration form was introduced solely to link applicant details with historical records from 2002 and 2003.

"The Declaration is a document provided by the SIR Orders and is NOT a part of Form 6," the Election Commission wrote in the affidavit.

The court directed the election authority to file its response by November 5 and scheduled further hearings for that date.