The petition, which has now been filed by three residents of Maharashtra, raises concerns regarding the unilateral manner in which these decisions were allegedly made by the ECI and CEC.
The petition claims that the objections raised by the two Election Commissioners relate to voter registration, deletion and restoration of voters’ names, the electoral-roll database, the functioning of Electoral Registration Officers, and software-related processes.
They argue that the Election Commission has not discharged its functions in accordance with Section 18 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023.
The petition also challenges certain changes made to Form 6 in July this year.
The petitioners have thus sought the quashing of the fourteen administrative orders, a stay on the SIR process in Maharashtra, and restoration of the names of voters whose names were deleted during the SIR exercise.
They have also sought orders to postpone the upcoming State Assembly Elections in all States where SIR was carried out, until fresh and legally compliant electoral rolls are approved in accordance with law.
The petitioners have further sought the constitution of an independent judicial committee, headed by a retired Judge of the High Court, to investigate the data deletions and software blockages implemented during the recent SIR process.