2025:BHC-AS:49558-DB IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 15117 OF 2025 Vaishali Lalchand Patil … Petitioner.

V/s The State of Maharashtra and Others … Respondents.

Mr. Jitendra V. Patil, Advocate for the petitioner.

Mrs. Neha S. Bhide, G.P. a/w. Mr. O.A. Chandurkar, Addl. G.P., Mr. V.G. Badgujar, A.G.P., Mrs. G.R. Raghuwanshi, A.G.P. for the respondent-State.

CORAM : SHREE CHANDRASHEKHAR, CJ &

GAUTAM A. ANKHAD, J.

DATE : 7^th NOVEMBER 2025.

PER, GAUTAM A. ANKHAD, J.

Not on board. Upon mentioning, the writ petition is taken on production Board. The petitioner has filed the present petition seeking the following reliefs:

“A. By issuing writ of mandamus under Article 226 of the Constitution of India or any other appropriate writ, like in nature this Hon’ble court may kindly direct the Respondents to add the names of present petitioner in the voters list of village Bhadli Bk. for upcoming Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections more particularly for elections of Election Division-28 (Kusumba Kh.) Nirvachan Gan-55 (Bhadli Bk.)

B. By issuing appropriate writ or any other appropriate order, like in nature this Hon’ble Court may kindly quash and set aside the impugned order passed by respondent no. 04 i.e. Ld. Tahsildar Jalgaon dated 17/10/2025.

C. By issuing writ of mandamus under Article 226 of the Constitution of India or any other appropriate writ, like in nature this Hon’ble Court may kindly direct the Respondents to allow the petitioner to contest and to vote in upcoming Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections more particularly for elections of Election Division-28 (Kusumba Kh.)

Nirvachan Gan-55 (Bhadli Bk.)

D. By issuing writ of mandamus under Article 226 of the Constitution of India or any other appropriate writ, like in nature this Hon’ble court may kindly direct the Respondents to decide the representation filed by the present petitioner dated 27/10/2025.”

2. Mr. Patil, learned counsel for the petitioner, submits that the petitioner has been a registered voter in Division-46, Jalgaon Gramin Legislative Assembly (Chaudhari Vada-4). Her name appeared in the earlier voters’ list dated 29^th October 2024 at serial no. 399. However, in the draft voters’ list published on 8^th October 2025 by the respondent no. 5 for the forthcoming Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections of Jalgaon District, the petitioner’s name was found missing. The petitioner’s objection to such exclusion came to be rejected by the respondent no. 4 vide order dated 17^th October 2025. Aggrieved by the exclusion of her name and the rejection of her representation, the petitioner has filed the present writ petition.

3. Upon perusal of the order dated 17^th October 2025 passed by the respondent no. 4, we find that the said authority has considered the petitioner’s objection. Respondent no. 4 has referred to the consolidated order issued by the respondent no. 5 regarding the preparation of electoral rolls and has held that, since the petitioner’s name was added to the voters’ list only on 17^th July 2025, she could not be included in the draft voters’ list. The order dated 17^th October 2025 is reasoned and warrants no interference. The Hon’ble Supreme Court in Lakshmi Charan Sen v. A.K.M. Hassan Uzzaman, (1985) 4 SCC 689 has held that the High Court while exercising its jurisdiction under Article 226 cannot assume control over the election process or pass orders that has the effect of postponing an election. A division bench of this Court while dealing with a matter pertaining to elections of co-operative societies in “Dattatray Genaba Lole v. Registrar, Coop.

Society”, (2021) 2 HCC (Bom) 612 held that the inclusion or exclusion of a name in the voters’ list does not constitute an extraordinary circumstance warranting interference by this Court in the exercise of its writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. In other election matters, a similar view has been taken by the Himachal Pradesh H