The Karnataka High Court on Friday, 9 October 2026, stayed further investigation in criminal cases against Booth Level Agents (BLAs) of the BJP who are accused of submitting fraudulent Form 7 applications seeking deletion of voters in two Bengaluru constituencies, The Indian Express reported.
Quick Facts
| Judge | Justice Anant Ramanath Hegde |
| Petitioners | BLAs G S Vasanthalakshmi and Deepak Singh R |
| Order | Interim stay of further investigation until the next hearing |
| Complainant | Anoop Iyengar |
| Next hearing | Next month; notice issued to the state and the complainant |
What the Court Said
“The competent authority has not taken any decision on the submitted Form 7; it is submitted that before a decision is taken, a procedure is to be followed as prescribed under the rules,” the judge said. “This court is of the prima facie view that before a decision is taken on the Form 7, prima facie there cannot be an investigation. Hence the proceedings are stayed till the next date of hearing.”
Form 7 is used to object to the proposed inclusion or deletion of a name in the electoral roll. Electors can file it to delete their own name or object to another elector’s in their constituency.
The Allegations
- The complaint against Vasanthalakshmi says that during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Ward No. 64’s rolls, Form 7 objections were filed for 778 electors across eight parts, showing them as absent or permanently shifted
- The allegation against Singh is that Form 7 objections were filed for 136 electors in Ward No. 45
- Complainants say signatures on several forms vary and that the petitioner’s signature may have been forged; the two are charged by two different police stations for impersonation
The Arguments
Senior Advocate Arun Shyam, for the petitioner, said the BLA has not denied filing the forms, is authorised to do so and that the offence registered is premature. The State Public Prosecutor and the complainant’s lawyer argued that someone impersonated the petitioner to file forms against genuine voters who stand to be disenfranchised, and that bulk applications were filed contrary to the limit set by the Election Commission.
The Political Backdrop
The Indian Express reported that Karnataka BJP criticised the FIRs, saying “police stations have become Congress stations”.
Featured image: The High Court of Karnataka in Bengaluru (file photo). Photo by Quantumtunneling, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.