NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday sought a report from the Election Commission (EC) on allegations of fake Form 7 applications being filed in bulk during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh, with petitioners alleging attempts to delete thousands of genuine voters, particularly minorities.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi directed the EC to examine the alleged irregularities and take corrective steps. Form 7 is used to seek deletion of a voter’s name from the electoral roll.

The court was hearing a batch of petitions alleging thousands of Form 7 had been submitted, many allegedly without the voters’ knowledge and through forged signatures. 

The petitioners said bulk applications were targeting minority voters in several districts and that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were accepting them without issuing notices to the affected voters, in violation of mandatory procedure.

Terming the allegations serious, the Bench said such irregularities could result in the disenfranchisement of voters. “The EC must examine and take corrective steps. 

The EC must ensure deletion only after notice and hearing to voter. SIR should result in inclusive and accurate rolls, not deletion of genuine voters through bulk Form 7,” it said.

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The Bench directed the petitioners to submit, within a week, district-wise details of unresolved irregularities to the EC. It also said the Commission must prevent the misuse of Form 7 and take action against those filing false applications.

The EC assured the court that it would examine the complaints and file a compliance report within two weeks. The Bench posted the matter for further hearing after two weeks. 

The EC launched the SIR in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections to update electoral rolls by removing the names of deceased, shifted and duplicate voters.

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) challenging the bail granted to human rights activist Khuram Parvez from Jammu and Kashmir in a case under the anti-terror law. 

Parvez was arrested by the NIA on November 22, 2021. The Delhi High Court had on June 10 granted him bail.

Collegium clears names of 6 judges. The Supreme Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, on Friday approved proposals for the appointment of 11 persons as judges of the high courts of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. 

The Collegium, also comprising Justices Vikram Nath and B V Nagarathna, cleared the names of six persons.