An 18-year-old Mumbai resident has approached the Bombay High Court after the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) allegedly rejected her voter registration, highlighting gaps in the enrolment process ahead of the upcoming civic polls in the state.
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MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court was informed on Tuesday that the State Election Commission (SEC) will adopt the voters’ list used for the Maharashtra Assembly elections for the upcoming civic polls. The statement came during the hearing of a petition filed by 18-year-old Rupika Singh, who alleged that her application to enroll as a voter after turning 18 in April 2025 was not accepted.
Singh approached the Bombay High Court, claiming that the rejection of her application violated her statutory right to vote and her freedom of expression under the Constitution. Her petition sought directions to the Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to process her voter registration application in a time-bound manner, and to ensure her name is included in the electoral roll for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
The Dispute
According to Singh, her application was rejected because the cut-off date for voter registration in the state was October 1, 2024, prior to her turning 18. The Maharashtra Assembly elections were held in November 2024, and the SEC has now decided to use the same voter list for municipal corporation elections.
Advocate Ashutosh Kumbakoni, representing the State Election Commission, informed a division bench of Justices R.I. Chagla and Farhan Dubash that the assembly poll voter list would be adopted for civic elections.
Singh’s petition further stated that the draft electoral roll for all municipal corporations in Maharashtra will be published on November 6, 2025. However, unless she is enrolled as a voter before that, her name will not appear in the final list.
After turning 18, Singh attempted to register as a voter through the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) online portal, but found that the system did not allow applications for citizens who turned 18 on or after October 2, 2024. Her subsequent attempt to file an offline application was also unsuccessful.
Later, she learned that July 1, 2025, had been set as the enrolment cut-off date for the local body elections. This effectively meant that only those whose names were on the voter list as of July 1, 2025, would be eligible to vote in the upcoming civic polls.
Alleged Violation of Voting Rights
Singh argued that the non-acceptance of her application has denied her the right to participate in the democratic process, making her ineligible to vote in the BMC elections despite being legally entitled. Her plea stated that the failure to accept her application amounts to a violation of her fundamental right to vote, which is a crucial part of her freedom of expression.
The Bombay High Court has posted the matter for further hearing on Thursday.
