The Bombay High Court on Thursday observed that if citizens begin applying for voter registration immediately upon turning 18, it could lead to a surge of applications and place a heavy verification burden on electoral authorities.
A division bench of Justices Riyaz Chagla and Farhan Dubash made the observation while hearing a plea by Rupika Singh, an 18-year-old whose voter registration application had been rejected. The court directed electoral registration officers to decide on her application within six weeks.
Singh, who turned 18 in April 2024, approached the High Court after her application was denied. The last date for voter registration in the state was October 1, 2024, and her name was excluded from the list. She argued that, since the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections pending since March 2022 had not yet been scheduled, her name should be added to the electoral roll.
Citing a Supreme Court judgment, the bench clarified that there is a distinction between the freedom to vote and the right to vote. While a citizen attains the freedom to vote upon reaching 18, the right is conferred only after inclusion in the revised electoral roll. The court also noted that the voter list for the 2024 Assembly elections had been finalised in October, by which time Singh was not yet eligible.
Earlier, the court had sought responses from the Election Commission of India and the Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra, both of whom agreed to reconsider Singh’s application. Following this assurance, the court directed officials to make a decision within six weeks and disposed of the petition.
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