Supreme Court Dismisses Woman’s Bid to Contest Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections After Voter Roll Disqualification

The Supreme Court of India has dismissed a plea from C. Geetha, who sought to run as an Independent candidate in the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections from the Uthangarai and Bargur constituencies. This decision came after her name was removed from the state’s electoral rolls during a recent intensive revision process.

On Friday, the court, led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi, rejected Geetha’s petition, indicating it was filed too late. The court’s decision means that Geetha will not be able to participate in the elections scheduled for April 23, with counting set for May 4.

The Election Commission had recently completed a special intensive revision of the electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu, resulting in the removal of over 74 lakh names from the voter list. This significant purge was part of an effort to streamline the electoral process, which saw the state’s voter count drop from approximately 6.4 crore to 5.6 crore. The rigorous exercise began on October 27, and by December, nearly 97.3 lakh names had been eliminated from the draft rolls, highlighting the drastic changes in voter registration.

Despite the removal of millions from the list, the Election Commission reported that around 27.5 lakh eligible voters were added during the claims and objections phase, which concluded on January 30. However, this phase also saw the deletion of an additional 4.2 lakh names, raising concerns among many citizens regarding the transparency and accuracy of the electoral process.

Geetha’s situation raises pertinent questions about voter rights and access to electoral participation, particularly for those who may find themselves inadvertently excluded from the rolls. As the political landscape heats up ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, this case underscores the importance of ensuring that all eligible voters have the opportunity to cast their ballots.

Source: scroll.in