Mumbai: The Bombay High Court will hear a petition challenging aspects of Maharashtra’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls on October 5. The plea raises concerns over the possible exclusion of eligible voters and seeks greater transparency in the process.

The petition, filed by two businessmen, was mentioned before a division bench of Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna on Monday, September 28. The petitioners’ counsel told the court that the matter involved citizens’ rights and required urgent consideration.

The petitioners claimed that around 2.1 crore names could potentially be affected during the electoral roll revision process. However, the plea does not seek a stay on the SIR exercise. Instead, it seeks disclosure of the legal basis, orders and methodology under which the revision is being conducted.

The petition also seeks safeguards to prevent wrongful deletion of names from electoral rolls and requests restoration of names of eligible voters who may have been removed.

The petitioners have argued that while the Election Commission of India can undertake electoral verification, it cannot independently decide questions related to citizenship. They stated that any doubts regarding citizenship should be referred to the appropriate authority under the Citizenship Act, 1955.

The matter will now be taken up for detailed hearing on October 5. The court’s proceedings will examine the concerns raised regarding transparency, voter inclusion and the procedures followed during the SIR exercise.