SUPREME COURT SEEKS ACCOUNTABILITY OVER BULK VOTER DELETION APPLICATIONS IN UTTAR PRADESH

October 31, 2026

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 31: The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to examine allegations concerning the bulk submission of applications seeking deletion of voters’ names from electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh, following claims that members of a particular community were being selectively targeted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana instructed the petitioners to submit a written note detailing the alleged irregularities. The Election Commission has been asked to verify the facts, take necessary corrective measures and file a compliance report before the court.

During the hearing, counsel for the petitioners referred to one assembly constituency where 32 Form 7 applications had allegedly been submitted against members of a particular community. The counsel also claimed that two applications on record carried the signatures of booth-level officers and raised questions about inconsistencies in the Election Commission’s affidavit.

Senior advocate D. Seshadri Naidu, representing the Election Commission, acknowledged that bulk Form 7 applications had been received but maintained that officials had examined and cross-checked them, found the information false and refrained from acting on the applications. He stated that further specific allegations could be examined if formal complaints were submitted.

Form 7 is the prescribed application through which an objection can be raised against a person's inclusion in an electoral roll or deletion of an existing voter's name, subject to the applicable legal procedure. The petitioners argued that similar complaints in Karnataka and Telangana had resulted in directions for police action, while seeking comparable scrutiny in Uttar Pradesh.

The Supreme Court has not established that voters were unlawfully removed or that the alleged targeting took place. Its direction requires the Election Commission to examine the specific complaints and report on the action taken. The proceedings have brought renewed attention to safeguards against wrongful voter exclusion during electoral-roll revision.