‘Election Commission wants me to give a false declaration… It is wrong’: Why a Goa ‘voter’ is in court

Paresh Salgaonkar, a 41-year-old resident of Santa Cruz constituency in North Goa, is currently involved in a legal battle with the Election Commission of India (ECI). Salgaonkar, who has been voting in local elections since 2003, is concerned that his family's names have been removed from the final electoral roll due to a system glitch.

The ECI has instructed Salgaonkar and his family to file a new Form 6, which is meant for first-time voters, instead of their previously filed Form 8 applications for change of address. Salgaonkar believes this is against his ethics and the law. The families have been shifted from their original address within the North Goa constituency over eight years ago.

When the SIR enumeration process began, Salgaonkar contacted the Booth Level Officer (BLO) of his earlier ward to obtain the necessary forms. However, after filling out the forms and submitting them to the BLO, Salgaonkar received notification that his Form 8 applications had been rejected. The ECI acknowledged receipt of his application through an SMS but informed him that the processing of forms had been stopped on October 27, 2025.

Salgaonkar and his family were then informed that their EPICs had been deleted, and that Form 8 applications could no longer be processed. The final electoral roll was published on January 21, 2026, without Salgaonkar and his family's names. Salgaonkar decided to file a complaint with the National Grievance Service Portal of the ECI and the CEO's office, seeking clarification on the rejection of their Form 8 applications.

He has now filed a petition in the High Court, arguing that the ECI is asking him to file a false declaration by insisting on filing Form 6 instead of his previously filed Form 8.