After that two Election Commissioners had objected to decisions taken during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, two writ petitions were filed in the Bombay High Court on Thursday challenging the SIR process in Maharashtra.

The pleas seek several directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI), including placing on record 14 decisions concerning the SIR, criteria for polling station rationalisation and ECINET specifications. They also seek restoration of every voter deleted during the SIR process in Maharashtra, or quashing of the SIR directions for the state and a stay on forthcoming Assembly elections until the electoral rolls are made “legally compliant”.

One of the pleas seeks the appointment of an independent judicial committee to “investigate the data deletions and software blockages implemented during the current SIR process”.

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A writ petition filed by four Maharashtra residents and registered voters through advocate Asim Sarode before the Kolhapur circuit bench cited the Express investigation and claimed they were “aggrieved by the systematic erosion of constitutional norms governing the management of electoral rolls”, which they said directly affected their fundamental rights.

The plea is likely to be mentioned on Monday, September 28.

The petition also claimed that the action was “contrary” to past Supreme Court judgments, alleging that the CEC and ECI had exercised their powers in a manner “detrimental to the democratic perspective and against the interest of the general public”.

The four petitioners have sought quashing of the 14 “unilateral administrative orders” and modifications, disclosure of recorded dissents, restoration of all deleted voters and formation of an independent judicial committee to probe the deletions.

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The plea also seeks a direction to put on hold all forthcoming Assembly elections across the country “until fresh, untainted, and legally compliant electoral rolls are approved”.

Another writ petition, filed through advocate Hitendra Gandhi by two Mumbai residents, raised concerns over the “collection of documents during enumeration and exclusion based on uncollectible status”.

The petitioners have sought directions to the ECI to publish the reasons for the SIR, the methodology used for the Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate (ASDD) electoral rolls, and ECINET specifications. They have also sought action on their April 2026 representation to the authorities and quashing of the SIR-related directions for Maharashtra.

The plea further seeks a direction to the ECI that no voter be excluded without statutory notice, an opportunity of hearing and a reasoned order, among other reliefs.