BJP leader accused of misuse of Form-7 gets anticipatory bail

Ravi Patil, a BJP leader facing charges of misusing Form-7 to target Muslim voters, appeared before the investigating officer of Begalavi Market police station in Belagavi on Sunday. | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

A local court has granted conditional interim bail to Ravi Patil, a BJP leader from Belagavi North Assembly constituency, who is facing charges of misusing Form 7 to seek deletion of names of some Muslim voters.

Belagava Police registered an FIR against Dr. Patil at the Belagavi Market police station on allegations of his misuse of Form-7 and attempt to illegally delete the names of around 198 Muslim voters from Veerabhadra Nagar during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls.

Aman Sait, a young Congress leader, confiscated these forms from two persons employed at Dr. Hospital. He suffered and complained to the District Election Officer. Meerasab Sanadi, a Booth-level agent, filed a police complaint against Dr. Patila, two of his employees and 20 other unidentified persons.

Dr. Patil approached the second district and sessions court in Belagavi, which granted him interim bail. Meanwhile, Dr. Patil appeared before the investigating officer of the Belagavi Market police station, who is handling the complaint, on Sunday.

Justice Gangadhar KN passed the order granting him bail on furnishing a bond of ₹50,000 and a surety in the same amount. The court imposed conditions on him not to tamper with evidence and not to intimidate witnesses, to appear when summoned by investigators and to refrain from criminal activity.

The court observed that election officials do not automatically take deletion or retention action only after Form 7 is submitted and said that they conduct independent investigation and verification of such submissions.

The court noted that the case was based on documents and that the relevant applications were already with the clerk at the booth level. He also noted that election officials were not individuals affiliated with any particular political party. Since the arrest could damage the petitioner’s reputation and social standing, the court granted bail.

Published – 04 Oct 2026 20:19 IST