Supreme Court Orders Probe Into Uttar Pradesh Voter Deletions

The Supreme Court of India ordered the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday to investigate allegations of irregularities during a Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh. Petitioners, including Congress MP Tanuj Punia, alleged an orchestrated effort to target specific communities through the bulk submission of Form 7 applications, which are used to request the deletion of voters from the rolls.

Representing the ECI, senior advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu acknowledged the bulk filings but asserted that scrutiny and cross-verification revealed the applications were false, meaning no names were actually deleted based on those forms. The court directed petitioners to submit a detailed note of unresolved irregularities to the ECI, which must then examine the facts, take corrective steps, and file a compliance report with the court.

In a related development, the Allahabad High Court sought a response from the Uttar Pradesh State Election Commission regarding the alleged illegal deletion of 32 names from a panchayat electoral roll in Balrampur district. The High Court also sought explanations for the omission of 138 residents from a panchayat voter list in Amethi.