The Bombay High Court on Tuesday heard a petition filed by an 18-year-old woman who alleged that her application to enrol as a voter after turning 18 was not accepted due to procedural restrictions, effectively barring her from voting in the upcoming municipal elections.
The petitioner, Rupika Singh, told the court that despite becoming eligible in April 2025, her online and offline applications for voter registration were rejected because the cut-off date in Maharashtra was October 1, 2024, set before the state assembly elections held in November that year.
During the hearing, Advocate Ashutosh Kumbakoni, representing the State Election Commission, informed a division bench of Justices R.I. Chagla and Farhan Dubash that the same voters’ list used for the 2024 assembly elections would be adopted for the upcoming civic polls.
The petition pointed out that the draft electoral rolls for all municipal corporations are scheduled to be published on November 6, and unless Singh’s name is added, she will not be able to vote in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
Singh argued that the non-acceptance of her application amounted to a violation of her statutory right to vote and her freedom of expression, which includes the right to choose her representative. She said she was denied the opportunity to apply through the Election Commission of India’s portal because there was no option for citizens who turned 18 after October 2, 2024, to input their date of birth.
Even her attempt to apply offline failed, and she later discovered that July 1, 2025, had been set as the next cut-off date for voter enrolment in local body elections—effectively excluding her from participating in the civic polls despite being legally eligible.
Singh’s petition sought directions to the Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer to accept and process her application in a time-bound manner, and to the State Election Commission to include her name in the voters’ list pending the disposal of the case.
The bench posted the matter for further hearing on Thursday.
