The High Court of Karnataka on Friday stayed the investigation into two First Information Reports (FIRs) registered against two BJP’s Booth Level Agents (BLAs) on the complaint lodged by a Congress leader, who has alleged that the BLAs have submitted several false From 7 applications for deletion of eligible voters from the electoral rolls in Malleswaram Assembly constituency during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
Petitions by BLAs
Justice Anant Ramanath Hegde passed the interim order on the petitions filed by BLAs G.S. Vasanthalakshmi and Deepak Singh R., against whom the Vyalikaval and Yashwanthpur police have registered separate FIRs based on the complaint lodged by Anoop Iyengar, who was the Congress candidate for Malleswaram in the 2023 Assembly polls. It was alleged in the complaint that Ms. Vasanthalakshmi and Mr. Singh had 778 and 136 Form 7 objections, respectively, with false claim about the voters stating that they were either shifted or absent.
The complaint claimed signature variations in the forms suggesting forgery or impersonation, and accused Mr. Singh and Ms. Vasanthalakshmi of conspiring to disenfranchise minority voters.
Forgery denied
However, the petitioner-BLAs have denied forgery while conforming that the forms bore their signatures and pointed out that Election Commission of India’s guidelines permit BLAs to submit objections in Form 7 in bulk.
It has been contended in the petitions that the offence under Section 217(b) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) is barred by Section 215(1)(a) of the BNSS, which requires a written complaint from the public servant concerned, the Electoral Registration Officer, not by a private political rival.
The FIRs registered based on the complainant by an individual is not maintainable in law, it has been argued in the petitions.
Pointing out that filing of objections through Form 7 is an exercise under the Representation of People Act, 1950 and violation of its provision is a punishable offence, the petitioners have claimed that the FIR filed only invoking provisions of BNS is unsustainable.
Published – October 10, 2026 12:23 am IST
