Panaji: The Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to restore the names of Goa resident Paresh Salgaonkar and his five family members in the electoral roll within 10 days. Their names had been deleted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise after their Form 8 application for a change of address was rejected.
The Division Bench comprising Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Amit Jamsandekar heard the petition filed by Salgaonkar and his five family members, residents of the Santa Cruz Assembly constituency. They had challenged their removal from the electoral roll by the ECI during the SIR exercise following the rejection of their Form 8 application.
Advocate Vivek Rodrigues, representing Salgaonkar and his family, told reporters that the Court had ordered the restoration of the petitioners’ names in the electoral roll within 10 days.
Rodrigues said the petitioners had been on the electoral rolls and had been voting since 1995. He said Salgaonkar’s name was deleted after he changed his residence, despite filing Form 8, which is meant for changes in residence.
The lawyer said the petitioners were not allowed to remain on the electoral roll. He added that they had first approached the ECI through the first and second appeals, but both had failed, following which they filed a writ petition before the High Court.
After the order was passed on Thursday, Advocate Gaurish Agni, representing the ECI, sought a stay on the verdict pending a challenge before the Supreme Court. However, the Bench rejected the request.
The judges observed, “We decline to stay the directions given in this order, since they pertain to the inclusion of petitioners as voters, in the voting roll.”
“Request is therefore rejected,” the Bench ruled.
