Bombay High Court
Sandeep Maruti Raskar vs District Magistrate Cum District ... on 12 November, 2025
Author: N.J.Jamadar
Bench: N.J.Jamadar
2025:BHC-AS:48719
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
WRIT PETITION NO.15215 OF 2025
Sandeep Maruti Raskar ... Petitioner
versus
District Magistrate cum District Election
Officer and Ors. ... Respondents
Mr. Vineet Naik, Sr. Advocate i/by Mr. Nikhil Adkine, Mr. Mahadji Phalke, Mr.
Avinash Bailmare, Mr. Shubham B. Chaudhari, Mr. Somnath Kale, Mr. Sukand
Kulkarni, for Petitioner.
Mrs. Neha Bhide, Govt. Pleader with Mrs. Vrishali Raje, AGP for State.
Mr. S.B.Shetye, for Respondent No.3.
Mr. Akshay Shinde, for Respondent No.5.
CORAM: N.J.JAMADAR, J.
DATE : 12 NOVEMBER 2025
JUDGMENT:
1. Rule. In view of the urgency, rule made returnable forthwith, and, with
the consent of the learned Counsel for the parties, heard finally.
SWAROOP
SHARAD
PHADKE 2. By this Petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, the
Petitioner assails the legality, propriety and correctness of an order dated 6
November 2025 passed by the District Collector / District Election Officer,
Pune, in Appeal No.1 of 2025, whereby the appeal preferred by the Petitioner
purportedly under Section 24 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950
read with Rule 23 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, came to be
dismissed.
3. The Petitioner claims to be a resident and former Councilor of the
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Alandi Municipal Council. As the name of the Petitioner was included in the
electoral rolls of Alandi Municipal Council, Bhosari Legislative Assembly
Constituency and Khed Municipal Council, the Petitioner filed an application in
Form No.7 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, seeking deletion of the
name of the Petitioner in the electoral rolls of Bhosari Legislative Assembly
Constituency and Khed Municipal Council, on 22 November 2021 and sought
retention of his name in the electoral roll for Alandi Municipal Council.
4. It is the grievance of the Petitioner that on 30 December 2023, the
Booth Level Officer made an application for deletion of the name of the
Petitioner from the electoral roll of Alandi Municipal Council and without notice
to the Petitioner, the name of the Petitioner came to be deleted. On 30
September 2025, the State Election Commission declared programme for the
general elections to the Municipal Council and Nagar Panchayats. The
voter's list for Alandi Municipal Council was published on 8 October 2025.
Thereupon, the Petitioner found that the name of the Petitioner was deleted
from the electoral roll for Alandi Municipal Council.
5. On 10 October 2025, the Petitioner submitted an application to the
Election Officer (R2) for inclusion of the name of the Petitioner in the electoral
roll. By a communication dated 13 October 2025, the said application was
disposed observing that, in accordance with the directions of the State
Election Commission (R3), the draft voters list in accordance with the
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electoral rolls of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly as of 1 July 2025, was
published, and, therefore, it was not possible to include the name of the
Petitioner in the draft voters list, as the name of the Petitioner did not appear
in the electoral roll for the concerned Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
constituency.
6. Being aggrieved, the Petitioner had initially preferred Writ Petition
No.14116 of 2024, before this Court. The said Writ Petition was withdrawn
with liberty to avail the appellate remedy. Availing the said liberty, the
Petitioner preferred an appeal before the District Election Officer.
7. By the impugned order, the District Election Officer (R1) dismissed the
appeal observing, inter alia, that in the wake of the Parliamentary and
Legislative Assembly General Elections, the draft electoral rolls were
published and finalized in the year 2024 and the deletion of the name of the
Petitioner was not assailed by the Petitioner by filing an appeal within the
stipulated period.
8. Mr. Vineet Naik, learned Senior Advocate for the Petitioner, submitted
that the deletion of the name of the Petitioner from the electoral roll of Alandi
Municipal Council was in clear violation of the Registration of Electors Rules,
1960 and the fundamental principle of natural justice. No notice was served
on the Petitioner before deletion of his name at the instance of Booth Level
Officer, on 6 January 2023. Indisputably, the Petitioner is a resident of Alandi
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and has been a former Councilor of Alandi Municipal Council. The Petitioner
had filed an application for deletion of his name in Form No.7 from the
electoral rolls of Bhosari Legislative Assembly Constituency and Khed
Municipal Council. On the own showing of the Respondents, no action was
taken on the said application. Yet, by the impugned actions the Petitioner's
statutory and constitutional rights have been infringed, urged Mr. Naik.
9. Mr. Shetye, learned Counsel for Respondent No.3, would submit that,
the electoral roll of the Legislative Assembly Constituency is the basis for the
voters list for the election to Municipal Councils. Attention of the Court was
invited to the provisions contained in Section 11 of the Maharashtra Municipal
Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act, 1965, which
mandates that, the electoral roll of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
prepared under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950,
for the time being in force, on such date as the State Election Commissioner
may, by general or special order notify, shall be divided by the State Election
Commissioner into different sections corresponding to different wards in the
municipal area; and a printed copy of each section of the roll so divided and
authenticated by the State Election Commissioner or an officer authorized by
him, shall be the list of voters for each ward. Therefore, the essential
challenge of the Petitioner is to the deletion of the name of the Petitioner from
the electoral roll of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. As the Petitioner
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did not assail the said order of deletion by preferring an appeal, as provided
under Section 24 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, read with
Rule 23 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, the challenge to the
voters list, at this stage, is wholly misconceived.
10. To buttress this submission, Mr. Shetye placed reliance on Division
Bench judgments of this Court in the cases of Firoz Khan Daddu Khan
Pathan V/s. State Election Commission and Ors. 1 and Shri Savio O.
Fernandes and Anr. V/s. State Election Commissioner and Ors.2
11. Mr. Shinde, learned Counsel for the Election Commission of India (R6),
assailed the very maintainability of the Petition on the ground that under
Section 24(b) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the Petitioner
has an efficacious statutory remedy of Appeal before the Chief Electoral
Officer. Thus, the Petitioner must be directed to exhaust the statutory
remedy of appeal before the Chief Electoral Officer.
12. Mr. Shinde supplemented the submissions of Mr. Shetye that, once the
electoral roll of the Legislative Assembly of a particular date is notified as the
voters list and the name of the Petitioner does not find mention in such voters
list, the petitioner looses the qualification of a voter at the election of a
Councillor for the ward to which such voters list pertains. To this end, Mr.
Shinde placed reliance on a Division Bench judgment in the case of
1 WP No.3606 of 2020 dt. 22 December 2020 (Nagpur)
2 AIR 1996 Bom 343
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Balkrishna Jayasing Barge V/s. State Commission, through the State
Election Commissioner and Ors.3.
13. Mrs. Raje, learned AGP for Respondent No.4, also supported the
submissions on behalf of the State Election Commission and Election
Commission of India. It was urged that, the name of the Petitioner was
deleted from the electoral roll of Alandi Municipal Council in strict adherence
to the procedure for addition and deletion of names from the electoral roll.
Since the name of the Petitioner does not find mention in the final electoral
roll of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for the concerned ward of the Alandi
Municipal Council, the Petition does not deserve to be entertained.
14. Mr. Naik joined the issue on the maintainability of the Petition by
submitting that, the existence of an alternate remedy does not preclude the
Writ Court from exercising jurisdiction in the exigency of the situation like the
present one. Availability of an alternate remedy is a self-imposed restraint on
the exercise of writ jurisdiction. In the case at hand, in the light of the fact that
the last date for filing the nomination form is 17 November 2025, and, in view
of the stand of the State Election Commission, the remedy of Appeal before
the Chief Electoral Officer would not be an efficacious remedy, urged Mr.
Naik.
15. I have given careful consideration to the submissions canvassed across
3 2016 SCC Online Bom 13260
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the bar. Part III of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 contains a
fasciculus of the provisions under the caption "Electoral Rolls for Assembly
Constituencies". Section 22 of the Act, 1950 provides for corrections of
entries in electoral rolls. It reads as under :
"22. Correction of entries in electoral rolls. - If the
electoral registration officer for a constituency, on application
made to him or on his own motion, is satisfied after such
inquiry as he thinks fit, that any entry in the electoral roll of the
constituency -
(a) is erroneous or defective in any particular,
(b) should be transposed to another place in the roll on the
ground that the person concerned has changed his place of
ordinary residence within the constituency, or
(c) should be deleted on the ground that the person
concerned is dead or has ceased to be ordinarily resident in
the constituency or is otherwise not entitled to be registered in
that roll,
the electoral registration officer shall, subject to such
general or special direction, if any, as may be given by the
Election Commission in this behalf, amend, transpose or
delete the entry after proper verification of facts in such
manner as may be prescribed :
Provided that before taking any action on any ground
under clause (a) or clause (b) or any action under clause (c)
on the ground that the person concerned has ceased to be
ordinarily resident in the constituency or that he is otherwise
not entitled to be registered in the electoral roll of that
constituency, the electoral registration officer shall give the
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person concerned a reasonable opportunity of being heard in
respect of the action proposed to be taken in relation to him
after proper verification of facts in such manner as may be
prescribed."
16. Section 23 provides for inclusion of names in the electoral rolls. Section
24 provides for appeals. It reads as under :
"24. Appeals. - An appeal shall lie within such time and in such
manner as may be prescribed -
(a) to the district magistrate or additional district magistrate or
executive magistrate or district collector or an officer of equivalent
rank, from any order of the electoral registration officer under
Section 22 or Section 23;
(b) to the chief electoral officer, from any order of the district
magistrate or the additional district magistrate under clause (a)"
17. The Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, contains rules for inquiry into
claims and objections in regard to the electoral roll for the Assembly
Constituencies; inclusion of the names inadvertently omitted (Rule 21),
deletion of names (Rule 21-A) and final publication of electoral roll (Rule 22).
Under Rule 23, appeal is provided from the orders deciding claims and
objections under Rules 20, 21, 21-A to an appellate officer designated by the
State Government. Such appeal is required to be presented to the appellate
officer within a period of 15 days from the date of announcement of the
decision.
18. At this juncture, it is necessary to notice the provisions contained in
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Sections 11 and 12 of the Maharashtra Municipal Counsils, Nagar
Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act, 1965. They read as under :
"11. Preparation of list of voters. - The electoral roll of the
Maharashtra Legislative Assembly prepared under the
provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, for the
time being in force, on such date as the State Election
Commissioner may, by general or special order notify, shall be
divided by the State Election Commissioner into different
sections corresponding to different wards in the municipal area;
and a printed copy of each section of the roll so divided and
authenticated by the State Election Commissioner or an officer
authorized by him, shall be the list of voters for each ward.
12. Right to Vote.- (1) Every person whose name is in the list
of voters maintained under Section 11 shall be qualified to vote,
and every person whose name is not in such list shall not be
qualified to vote, at the election of a Councilor for the ward to
which such list pertains.
(2) The list of voters maintained under Section 11 shall be
conclusive evidence for the purpose of determining under this
section whether a person is qualified or is not qualified to vote,
as the case may be, at any election."
19. In the light of the aforesaid statutory provisions, reverting to the facts of
the case, it becomes abundantly clear that, the exercise of the deletion of the
name of the Petitioner from the electoral roll of Alandi Municipal Council was
in pursuance of the power under Section 22 of the Representation of the
People Act, 1950 and Rule 21-A of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
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Incontrovertibly, the name of the Petitioner was included in three electoral
rolls, namely Alandi Municipal Council, Bhosari Legislative Assembly
Constituency and Khed Municipal Council. In fact, the Petitioner made an
endeavour to press into service the application presented by the Petitioner for
deletion of his name from the electoral rolls of Bhosari Legislative Assembly
Constituency and Khed Municipal Council as his trump card. Mr. Naik would
urge, with a degree of vehemence, that no decision was taken on the said
application and against the wish of the Petitioner, his name came to be
deleted from the electoral rolls of Alandi Municipal Council.
20. At the first blush, the submission of Mr. Naik appears attractive.
However, on a close scrutiny, the challenge does not merit acceptance.
21. A conjoint reading of the provisions contained in the Representation of
the People Act, 1950 and Sections 11 and 12 Act, 1965, would indicate that it
is the final electoral roll for the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
Constituencies, as of the date notified by the State Election Commission, that
commands the primacy and assumes determinative significance. It is the
electoral roll of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Constituency in which
the Municipal Council falls, that has to be divided into different sections,
corresponding to different wards in the municipal area. Addition and deletion
of names, thus, has to be in and from the final electoral roll for the concerned
legislative assembly constituency as of the notified date. The names of the
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electors cannot be included or deleted from the voters list of the particular ward
in a Municipal Council.
22. Evidently, an elaborate procedure is delineated in the Representation of
the People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, for the
addition to and deletion of the names from the electoral roll for the legislative
assembly constituency, with a provision of appeals. Consequently, the
grievance regarding the improper addition to, or deletion of names from, the
electoral rolls has to be pursued in the manner provided under the Act, 1950
and the Electors Rules, 1960. Any challenge to the deletion of the names
from the electoral rolls after the specified date cannot be countenanced in the
manner other than that provided under the Act, 1950 and the Electors Rules,
1960.
23. In the case of Firoz Khan Daddu Khan Pathan (supra), in the context
of the election to the village panchayat under Maharashtra Village Panchayat
Act, the provisions contained in Section 12 whereof, are pari materia with
Section 11 of the Act, 1965, the Division Bench of this Court repelled the
challenge to the deletion of the name from the voters list for the Village
Panchayat, as under :
"6. It would be clear from the above referred section that
for the purposes of gram panchayat elections, it is only that
electoral roll of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, which
has been notified and published for the purposes of gram
panchayat elections on a particular date by the State
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Elections Commissioner, which is valid. In the present case,
the electoral roll that was notified for the purposes of gram
panchayat election by State Election Commissioner, was the
electoral roll as it existed on 25.09.2020. In this roll, name of
the petitioner was shown as deleted. In other words, the
position that obtained on 25.09.2020 in the electoral roll for
the Maharashtra State Assembly was that name of the
petitioner was not included. That would mean that for the
purposes of the gram panchayat election, the name of the
petitioner could not be included in the voters list after
25.09.2020 and even if it is to be included in terms of the
provisions contained in Section 23 of the Representation of
the People Act, 1950 read with Rule 13 of the Registration of
Electors Rules. 1960, it would not be considered as valid for
the purposes of the present gram panchayat elections ...."
24. The Division Bench followed an earlier Division Bench judgment in the
case of Shri Savio O. Fernandes and Anr Vs State Election
Commissioner and Ors.4 The reference to the enunciation of law in the
judgment in the case of Savio O. Fernandes and Anr. (supra), would be
apposite. The observations in paragraph Nos.35 to 37 are material, and,
hence, extracted below :
"35. Thus, sub-section (2) of Section 12 of the Act makes
the voters list maintained under Section 11 of the Act to be the
conclusive evidence for the purpose of determining whether a
person is qualified or is not qualified to vote. As indicated
hereinabove, some other provisions of Section 11 of the Act
4 AIR 1996 Bombay 343.
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are similar to those to be found in Section 14 of the Karnataka
Municipalities Act. In our opinion, therefore, the judgment in
AIR 1975 SC 1708 should govern our decision. That judgment
in terms lays down that if there is any mistake in the electoral
roll, in that some voters residing in one area or house number
are shown as residing in another, it cannot be corrected while
preparing the list of voters for each division. The Returning
Officer has to take the electoral roll for the territorial area of
the division as it is with whatever mistakes there may be in it,
and that would be the list of voters for the division. The only
way in which the mistakes, if any, either in the names of the
voters or in their addresses including house numbers in which
they reside, can be corrected is by applying for rectification
under the provisions of Section 22 of the Representation of
People Act, 1950. So long as such rectification is not made,
the entries in the electoral roll would stand and they would
necessarily be reflected in the list of voters for the division.
But they would not constitute the mistakes so far as the
preparation of the list of voters for the division is concerned.
36. Thus, applying the aforesaid principle to the facts of
our case, it has got to be said that the only remedy for the
present petitioners was to approach the concerned authority
under the 1950 Act when the intensive revision of the electoral
roll was undertaken, as pointed out in the affidavit-in-reply and
documents annexed thereto.
37. The contention that as Section 11 of the Act does not
contain any corrective machinery, that provision is ultra vires,
cannot be accepted. The reason is that it would not be
incumbent upon any legislature to provide such machinery
twice over again. Under the provisions of the 1950 Act, such
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machinery has been provided in Sections 22 and 23 of the
Act. After following that machinery, an electoral roll was
finalised, and such finalised electoral roll formed the basis of
voters list prepared by the authorities who are in charge of the
conduct of the Municipal elections. The fact that Section 11 of
the Act does not provide for a machinery for correcting the
voters list will not render that section ultra vires. What Section
11 contemplates is that the electoral roll for the legislative
Assembly for the time being in force on such date as the State
Election Commissioner may by general or special order notify
in that behalf shall form the basis for preparing a document
which is to be deemed to be Municipal voters list. For
converting the legislative Assembly electoral Roll into a voters
list for the Municipal election, the only operation to be
performed is "scissors and paste". Now as is clear from the
facts and provisions of law, before the legislative Assembly
Roll is finalised, it has to pass through a corrective procedure.
In the present case as the affidavit-in-reply shows such
corrective procedure has been followed. Draft roll was
prepared, objections and claims were invited, and thereafter,
the draft roll was finalised by notification dated 1st December,
1995. The State Election Commissioner, by his order dated
December 20, 1995, has taken that final Assembly Roll as the
basis for preparing the voters list for conducting the elections
to the Municipal Council. Therefore, neither Section 11 of the
Act nor the voters list, on the basis of which the elections are
going to be held could be faulted."
25. The Division Bench has in terms observed that, before the Legislative
Assembly Roll is finalized, it has to pass through corrective procedure. Draft
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roll is prepared, objections and claims are invited and, thereafter, draft roll is
finalized. Such finalised electoral roll forms the basis of voter's list prepared
for the conduct of Municipal elections. For converting the legislative assembly
electoral roll into a voters list for the municipal election, the only operation to
be performed is "scissors and paste"
26. In the case at hand, it is imperative to note that, the name of the
Petitioner was deleted from the electoral roll of the legislative assembly
constituency into which Alandi Municipal Council falls, on 6 January 2023.
The Parliamentary and Maharashtra State Legislative Assembly elections
were held subsequent to the deletion of the name of the Petitioner from the
said electoral roll.
27. Mr. Naik fairly submitted that, the Petitioner's name was not included in
the electoral roll for the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Constituency into
which Alandi Municipal Council falls.
28. Once this position is conceded, it becomes explicitly clear that the
challenge now sought to be mounted by the Petitioner cannot be
countenanced as the Petitioner cannot be heard to urge that, he was unaware
of the deletion of his name from the electoral roll of the concerned legislative
assembly constituency. At any rate, the essential challenge is to the deletion
of the Petitioner's name from the electoral roll for the concerned legislative
assembly constituency. Therefore, the authorities were justified in not
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acceding to the prayer of the Petitioner to include his name in the voters list of
Alandi Municipal Council. Resultantly, the Writ Petition fails.
29. At this stage, Mr. Naik submitted that liberty to avail the remedy to
assail the deletion of the name of the Petitioner from the electoral roll of the
concerned legislative assembly constituency be reserved.
30. Suffice to note, if the remedy is statutorily available, the Petitioner
cannot be precluded from availing the said remedy.
31. Hence, the following order :
ORDER
(i) The Writ Petition stands dismissed.
(ii) It is, however, clarified that, the Petitioner would be at
liberty to avail the remedy against the deletion of his name from the
electoral roll of the concerned legislative assembly constituency, as
available in law, and the dismissal of this Petition may not be construed
as an impediment in pursuing such remedy, if available in law.
(iii) Rule discharged.
(iv) No costs.
( N.J.JAMADAR, J. )
