Voters list for panchayat polls same as for assembly elections: HC

NAGPUR: While dismissing a petition that contested deletion of a Chandrapur resident’s name in the gram panchayat voters list, the high court (HC) clarified legal provisions stating the list is based completely on electoral roll of Maharashtra legislative assembly.
The petitioner had approached the Nagpur bench of Bombay HC after his name was shown as ‘deleted’ in the gram panchayat list notified on September 25.
The State Election Commission (SEC), through advocate Jemini Kasat, told the court that changes, if any, need to be done during a specified period in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly electoral roll itself. Kasat contested the petition saying the gram panchayat voters list is simply taken from the legislative assembly roll, as has been specified under Section 12 of the Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act.
Kasat also submitted before the court that there are separate procedures given for revision of voters list prepared for parliamentary and assembly polls under Section 22 and 23 of the Representation of the People Act (1950), and Registration of Electors Rules (1960). Kasat reiterated in his arguments that there was no merit in the petition, based on review of the existing legal provisions. Assistant government pleader NR Patil too took the same line of argument.
The bench headed by justices Sunil Shukre and Avinash Gharote dismissed the petition by citing reasons in its detailed order. Their order went into the rules under Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act as well as a previous order by a division bench in a similar case, and held that the name of the petitioner could not be included in the voters list after September for the purpose of gram panchayat elections.