Maharashtra SIR: Plea seeks restoration of deleted voters, quashing of 14 ECI orders
A legal challenge was lodged on Friday, 25 September 2026, before the Kolhapur Bench of the Bombay High Court by three Maharashtra residents seeking the restoration of every voter deleted during the recent Special Intensive Revision. Represented by advocate Asim Sarode and a legal team including Shriya Awale and Saklen Mujawar, the petitioners requested the quashing of 14 administrative orders issued by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the past ten months. The plea contends that the election chief failed to discharge his duties faithfully under Section 18 of the 2023 Act, following reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded internal objections regarding voter registration, software blockages, database centralisation, and July changes to Form 6. Consequently, the petition seeks a stay on the revision exercise, the postponement of upcoming assembly elections in affected states, and the creation of an independent judicial committee headed by a retired High Court judge.
Political parties demand election chief's removal
The court action coincides with escalating political protests across India. Five Left parties—the CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML)-Liberation, RSP, and Forward Bloc—announced nationwide demonstrations running from 26 September to 2 October. Speaking after a meeting at A K Gopalan Bhawan, leaders including M A Baby, D Raja, and Dipankar Bhattacharya demanded the removal of Gyanesh Kumar, an immediate halt to the revision process, fresh elections in Maharashtra, Bihar, and West Bengal, and the adoption of the Supreme Court's appointment panel comprising the Prime Minister, Chief Justice, and Opposition Leader. They highlighted reported database restrictions, citing a Goa case where local registration officers were allegedly blocked from adding 97 eligible voters. Simultaneously, the youth outfit Cockroach Janta Party, led by Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das, and Ashutosh Ranka, launched the Election Commission Thik Karo campaign, issuing a 48-hour resignation ultimatum to the election chief. Pointing to 13 crore deletions nationwide—including two crore in Maharashtra and 24 lakh in Kerala—the party warned of a sit-in at Jantar Mantar and demanded criminal proceedings over alleged attempts to disenfranchise young voters.
Police complaint filed as election panel denies split
Further political pressure emerged in Bengaluru, where the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee lodged a police complaint at High Grounds station through General Secretary S Manohar. The complaint sought legal action against Gyanesh Kumar and BJP MLA Abhay Patil over an alleged letter requesting voter roll manipulation. In response to widespread opposition criticism, the Election Commission rejected claims of institutional dissent. The poll panel maintained that internal queries raised by commissioners were standard administrative feedback and affirmed that all final decisions regarding the revision exercise were taken unanimously.