“This cannot be generalised”: with those words the Supreme Court put the Maharashtra SIR voter deletions plea down for October 26 but would not issue notice on Thursday.
New Delhi: Asked to issue notice on a plea alleging large-scale voter deletions in Maharashtra during the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the Supreme Court on Thursday declined to do so that day and agreed instead to hear it on October 26, the Chief Justice of India saying such matters “cannot be generalised” [Plea on Maharashtra SIR Voter Deletions].
Senior Advocate Arvind Datar was heard by a Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi. Reports did not give the petitioner or the case number.
State by state, not all at once
Datar wanted the plea heard along with the other SIR matters listed for that day, and sought notice so that the authorities could respond on the discrepancies before the next hearing. The Chief Justice did not agree to club it with the others. Maharashtra, he said, would be taken up first, followed by the issues concerning Delhi.
This cannot be generalised. We have to look at it state-wise.
What the petition contends
According to the petition, about 1.2 crore of Maharashtra’s 9.79 crore voters were flagged for “logical discrepancies” in the SIR exercise. Datar told the Court, “We don’t even know what a logical discrepancy is.” These are the petitioner’s contentions, and the Election Commission’s response is not yet on record.
Another plea, by RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj and one other petitioner, takes on the ECI requirement that voters excluded from Delhi’s draft rolls must reapply using Form 6. That plea has been preponed to October 28.
ALSO READ: Supreme Court Prepones Hearing To October 28 On Delhi SIR Plea Against Form 6 Declaration
What the remark signals
The Chief Justice’s words suggest the Court means to test SIR challenges against each state’s own facts instead of treating them as one omnibus dispute, with Maharashtra heard before Delhi. Nothing has been found on the alleged deletions, on what a “logical discrepancy” means or on the Commission’s process, and the Commission has yet to respond.
Case Title: Plea on Maharashtra SIR Voter Deletions [case number and petitioner not reported]
Bench: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, Supreme Court of India
Date of Hearing: October 15, 2026; next hearing October 26, 2026
Appearances: Senior Advocate Arvind Datar for the petitioner