Representational image of people checking their names in the electoral rolls in Bengaluru
| Photo Credit: K. Bhagya Prakash
A petition was filed in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to probe allegations of “vote-value dilution” arising out of the addition of fictitious entries in the electoral roll of Mahadevapura Assembly constituency, which is part of the Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha seat.
The petition echoed the apprehensions raised by Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who has said the alleged fraud affected the very foundations of electoral democracy and integrity of the electoral roll.
The petitioner, Rohit Pandey, a Supreme Court advocate, submitted that “names of the same voters have been found registered in multiple constituencies”.
He has annexed in this regard Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers; addresses of the voters in question; constituencies, including Mahadevapura in Karnataka, Jogeshwari East in Maharashtra and Lucknow East and Varanasi Cantonment; and the booth numbers.
“EPIC number issued by the Election Commission is uniquely allotted to an individual. However, in the present case, the voters are found to be registered in multiple constituencies, clearly indicating that the same person holds voting rights in four constituencies within the country, which is in direct violation of the prevailing laws and the constitutional mandate ensuring one person, one vote,” the petition said.
The plea highlighted how one voter was registered twice in the same constituency and at the same booth under different EPIC numbers.
‘Grave errors by ECI’
In Mahadevapura, the petition said 10,652 voters across various booths in one constituency have identical particulars such as house number or father’s name.
In one constituency, 40,009 voters found to be invalid and 10,452 were duplicate entries.
In Maharashtra, about 39 lakh new voters were added to the electoral roll within four months after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, it alleged. At Chandrapur 71 constituency in booth number 350, approximately 80 voters were registered at the same uninhabited house, it said.
This petition demonstrates grave errors apparent on the face of the record on the part of the Election Commission of India, Mr. Pandey said.
“Such manipulation of the voter list strikes at the very root of the constitutional guarantee enshrined under Articles 324 (EC’s superintendence of free and fair elections) and 326 (universal adult suffrage),” the petition submitted.
Published – August 21, 2025 02:22 pm IST
