The Bombay High Court at Goa has reserved its verdict on a family’s petition over the deletion of their names from the final voters list after the Special Intensive Revision, in which the Election Commission urged the Court to defer the hearing.
Panaji: The Bombay High Court at Goa on Tuesday reserved its verdict in a petition filed by members of a family whose names were deleted from the final voters list in Goa following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, after the Election Commission of India urged the Court to defer the hearing citing a Supreme Court order [Paresh Salgaonkar v. State of Goa].
A division bench of Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Amit Jamsandekar heard the matter. The petitioners say they had filled in Form 8, the form used to report a change of address, and challenge the appellate orders on the deletions and the rejection of their Form 8 applications. The Court has not yet ruled on those claims.
The Election Commission’s request
Senior Advocate Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, appearing for the Election Commission of India, urged the bench to defer the hearing, citing the Supreme Court’s November 2025 order requesting all High Courts not to entertain petitions touching the SIR. The matter had earlier been put off to October 13 on the Commission’s request, as related cases were pending before the Supreme Court. The bench heard the matter and reserved its verdict.
The earlier hearings
At earlier hearings in the same petition, the Court had questioned how the Election Commission’s automated system rejects Form 8 applications, and had asked about the enumeration form requirement for voters who have changed address. Those were observations made while hearing the matter, and the Court has made no finding on the merits.
Why the hearing matters
The reserved verdict will indicate whether a High Court can examine individual voter-roll deletions during the SIR while related questions are before the Supreme Court. The Election Commission’s position is that such petitions should wait for the Supreme Court, while the petitioners say their names were deleted despite Form 8 applications. The order, when pronounced, will decide between those positions on the facts of this petition.
Case Title: Paresh Salgaonkar v. State of Goa [WP 732/2026]
Bench: Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Amit Jamsandekar, Bombay High Court at Goa
Date of Hearing: October 13, 2026 (verdict reserved)
Appearances: Senior Advocate Ashutosh Kumbhakoni for the Election Commission of India