Case against Dharavi man for filing 24 voter-deletion applications in a single day

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said in an official statement on October 24 that a case has been registered at Dharavi police station against a man. He is accused of filing 24 applications in a single day to lodge claims and objections on the draft electoral roll.

The BMC said the limit set under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR)-2026 programme was exceeded by these applications. Even so, the man kept submitting applications.

Officials said the complaint has been filed against Giridhari Swaminath Jaiswal. He lives in Gangadharlal Chawl on 90 Feet Road in Dharavi East, an area that falls in the 178-Dharavi Assembly constituency.

The BMC said Jaiswal submitted 24 Form 7 applications in one day. Under directions of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and Maharashtra's Chief Electoral Officer, one person can file only 10 such applications a day. Jaiswal therefore violated the limit.

The complaint has been filed under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. He is accused of submitting, in breach of the set rules, Form 7 applications that contained false and incorrect information.

According to the provisions cited by the civic body, if it is established that false information or a false declaration was knowingly given in Form 7, action can be initiated against the person who raised the objection.

Form 7 is used to seek the removal of a name from the electoral roll. The prescribed grounds include an objection to an entry, death, shifting to another place or duplication of a name. All of this falls within the applicable election rules.

The BMC statement said the SIR-2026 of the electoral rolls was under way across Brihanmumbai in line with ECI directions.

Draft electoral rolls for all Assembly constituencies were published on August 31, 2026. The period for submitting claims and objections was set from August 31 to October 26, 2026.

The civic body said the limit of 10 Form 7 applications a day was fixed under the directions of election officials to keep the process under control.

The Dharavi case has come up just days before the October 26 deadline for claims and objections. More details of the police investigation and further action are awaited.