The Supreme Court on Monday verbally assured that voters would not face prosecution for submitting Form 6 to restore their names to the electoral roll after being excluded during the special intensive revision, Live Law reported.
Form 6 is meant for first-time voter registration. It requires applicants to state that they have not registered or voted previously.
The court was hearing a petition challenging the revision of voter rolls in Maharashtra.
“Pre-existing voters misrepresenting themselves as fresh voters is an offence and liable for prosecution,” the petitioner’s advocate was quoted as saying by Live Law.
In response, Chief Justice Surya Kant said: “Do not worry. Nobody will be prosecuted.”
The court also issued notice to the Election Commission, while refusing to pass an interim order extending the deadline for filing claims and objections or restraining the poll panel from publishing the final electoral roll.
The petitioner had told the court that nearly three crore of Maharashtra’s approximately nine crore voters had been deleted after the draft electoral rolls were published, Live Law reported.
The lawyer appearing for the petitioner told the court on Monday that a separate form should be introduced for voters whose names had been deleted during the revision of electoral rolls rather than requiring them to submit Form 6, The Hindu reported.
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