Goa SIR: Bombay HC Orders Six Deleted Santa Cruz Voters Restored
Voters who move house inside a constituency cannot be forced to file Form 6 during SIR, the High Court said, rejecting the Election Commission's stand.
Image: Oneindia / PTI
The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court on Thursday, 5 November, directed the Election Commission of India to restore the names of Paresh Salgaonkar and five family members to the electoral roll of the Santa Cruz constituency. The six had been deleted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) after they applied on Form 8 to shift their entry within the constituency. The bench of Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Amit Jamsandekar refused the Commission’s request to stay the order, according to LiveLaw and PTI.
Form 8 Cannot Be Parked Until SIR Ends
The Commission argued that an Electoral Registration Officer could decline to act on a Form 8 while a revision is under way. The court rejected that. “We reject any contention of the Election Commission that during the process of a SIR, the ERO is within the law to refuse giving effect to Form 8 whilst the revision is underway,” the bench said, as quoted by LiveLaw.
It also held that a voter who has only changed address cannot be told to file Form 6, the form for new voters, because that would mean making a declaration that is not true. For people who moved house during the SIR, the ruling is a ready reference: their change-of-address application has to be decided.
Also read Election Commissioners’ Immunity: Supreme Court Seeks Centre, EC Reply
Deleted in the Draft Roll, Rejected in January
The petitioners had voted in Santa Cruz since 1995. According to the court record reported by LiveLaw, a Booth Level Officer told them on 12 November 2025 to file Form 8, moving them from Part 29 to Part 25 of the same constituency. The form was uploaded on 8 December. The draft roll of 16 December dropped their names from Part 29 without adding them to Part 25.
On 21 January 2026 the ERO rejected the applications and asked for Form 6. The District Election Officer and the Chief Electoral Officer upheld that. The family filed a writ petition in September, and hearings began on 28 September. Their counsel, Vivek Rodrigues, told reporters the names must be restored within 10 days.
The Commission’s counsel, Gaurish Agni, asked for a stay pending a challenge in the Supreme Court and for the hearing to be deferred because SIR matters are pending there. The bench said the directions concern the petitioners’ inclusion as voters, and declined both requests.
IPB News has earlier reported on the Commission’s affidavit on SIR and Form 6 in the Supreme Court and on Congress leader Jairam Ramesh’s criticism of its Form 6 clarification. More reports are collected under the SIR tag.
Supreme Court Challenge Still Open
The Commission has signalled it may take the matter to the Supreme Court, where SIR petitions are pending. No next hearing date is mentioned in the reports. The order covers six voters; it does not say how many others were removed on the same ground.
Source: Based on reporting by LiveLaw, Oneindia (PTI) and The Federal.
Image: Oneindia / PTI.
How the SIR (Special Intensive Revision) story developed
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