Overview
- Justices Riyaz Chagla and Farhan Dubash said allowing immediate applications upon turning 18 would overwhelm verification and “open the floodgates.”
- Invoking Supreme Court precedent, the bench distinguished the freedom to vote at 18 from the enforceable right, which exists only after roll revision.
- The court directed the Electoral Registration Officer to decide Rupika Singh’s application within six weeks and disposed of her petition.
- Senior counsel Ashutosh Kumbakoni, for the Election Commission of India and Maharashtra’s Chief Electoral Officer, agreed the authority would consider the application.
- Authorities confirmed the October 2024 assembly roll will be used for upcoming local polls, leaving many who turned 18 after that cut-off ineligible for the BMC elections.