Karnataka High Court quashes case against wife, son of rape accused

A lawyer and his family, who failed to fill out enumeration forms during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, were recently denied by the Delhi High Court from being added to the voter rolls without registering as new voters. The court emphasized that individuals not appearing on the SIR draft can fill Form 6, allowing them to register as first-time voters.

Advocate Nilotpal Datta and his kin took their case to the High Court, requesting the Election Commission of India to revise the procedure for existing electors unable to be enumerated during the SIR. They proposed recasting the process to correct and transpose their electoral entries using Form 8, instead of requiring fresh inclusion through Form 6.

Form 8 enables correction of existing electoral roll entries, while Form 6 is the statutory form for first-time voters' registration. The petitioners informed the court they could not complete the enumeration forms due to relocation, which led to their deletion from the electoral rolls. Their lawyer argued that filling Form 6 would constitute a false declaration, as it requires a declaration that the applicant has never voted before, which is not true in their case.

However, ECI's counsel Sanjay Vashishtha contended that Form 6 applies to the new roll being prepared for the ongoing SIR, meaning applicants are first-time voters for the new roll. He stated that Form 8 is solely for rectifying details of existing voters on the roll before and after the SIR exercise. Vashishtha's argument was supported by the court, stating that the petitioners' concerns about providing a false declaration were unfounded.

On October 14, a bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Aditi Choudhary dismissed the petition, allowing the petitioners to file Form 6, which will be processed according to the law.