The Bombay High Court (HC) on Thursday observed that allowing every individual to submit a voter enrolment application immediately upon turning 18 would overwhelm authorities with verification work and “open the floodgates”.
According to the news agency PTI, the court clarified that an individual who turns 18 is included in the electoral roll only during its next revision.
A division bench of Justices Riyaz Chagla and Farhan Dubash made the observation while hearing a plea filed by Rupika Singh, an 18-year-old Mumbai resident, whose application for voter registration was rejected because she turned 18 after the cut-off date of October 1, 2024. The Maharashtra Assembly Elections were held in November 2024.
While referring to a Supreme Court judgment, the bench noted the distinction between the freedom to vote and the right to vote.
“Once you turn 18, you have the freedom to vote, but the right arises only when your name is included in the revised electoral roll,” the court stated.
The judges further observed that if everyone began applying for voter registration the moment they turned 18, authorities would be overburdened with verification work.
“This will open the floodgates,” the court said, while directing the Electoral Registration Officer to consider Singh’s application within six weeks.
Senior counsel Ashutosh Kumbakoni, representing the Election Commission of India and the Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra, agreed to review Singh’s application, PTI reported.
Singh had approached the court, claiming her fundamental right to vote was being violated because her name was not included in the electoral roll, preventing her from voting in the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls, which have been pending since March 2022.
Kumbakoni informed the court that the voter list prepared as of October 2024 would be used for the local body polls, meaning Singh would not be eligible to vote this year. He also explained that the electoral rolls are revised before each parliamentary or assembly election.
After turning 18 in April 2025, Singh tried to apply online through the Election Commission’s portal, but was unable to do so as there was no option for applicants born on or after October 2, 2024. Her offline application was also rejected.
She later learned that July 1, 2025, was set as the next enrolment cut-off date, meaning only citizens listed as voters by that date would be eligible to vote in the local body elections, PTI reported.
In her plea, Singh argued that the non-acceptance of her application violated her freedom of expression, as she was denied the opportunity to cast her vote.
(With PTI inputs)
