The Karnataka High Court has directed the police not to take any coercive steps against BJP leader Dr Ravi Patil and two co-petitioners till October 13 in the case over alleged fabricated Form 7 applications during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Belagavi. The allegations in the FIR are untested, and the Court has expressed no view on the merits. [Dr Ravi Basalingappagowda Patil v. State of Karnataka]
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Dharwad: Justice Venkatesh Naik T of the Karnataka High Court, sitting at Dharwad, passed the interim order on petitions filed by Dr Ravi Patil, Prashanth Mundimani and Shankar Birappa Naik. The batch is registered as CRL.P 102783/2026 and connected matters.
The Court recorded that the Government Pleader sought time to file the State’s statement of objections and the latest investigation report. It issued emergent notice to respondent No. 2, the complainant, and listed the matter for October 13, 2026.
“Till then, the respondent-police/IO shall not take any coercive steps against the petitioners.”
What the FIR alleges
According to the police case, a block agent of the Congress alleged that the accused, including the doctor, planned to get the names of voters from the Muslim community deleted from the rolls during the SIR in Belagavi. The police say that about 198 Form 7 applications, alleged to be fabricated, were submitted to the Booth Level Officer attached to the election section of the Belagavi Mahanagar Palike. The complaint states that the 198 voters were in fact living at the addresses listed, and that the applications were allegedly filed to exclude them.
The SHO of Market Police Station, Belagavi, registered the case and issued a notice under Section 35(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. The FIR invokes provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Sections 318(4), 336(3), 336(4), 353 and 61(2), along with Section 192 read with Section 190. These are allegations that remain to be tested at trial, and the petitioners are presumed innocent.
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Appearances and earlier order
Senior Advocate Aruna Shyam appeared for Dr Ravi Patil. A Sessions Court in Belagavi had earlier granted him anticipatory bail, noting that submitting a Form 7 application does not by itself lead to action, since the electoral authorities carry out their own verification.
The petitioners’ specific legal submissions before the High Court were not recorded in the interim order. The State has not yet filed its objections, and the complainant has been given notice.
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The interim protection is operative only till the next date of hearing. Whether the case proceeds will depend on the State’s objections and the investigation report to be placed on October 13.
Case details: Dr Ravi Basalingappagowda Patil & Ors v. State of Karnataka & Anr | CRL.P 102783/2026 and connected matters | Bench: Justice Venkatesh Naik T | Next hearing: October 13, 2026.
Appearances: Senior Advocate Aruna Shyam (for Dr Ravi Patil); Government Pleader (for the State).