New Delhi: The Election Commission (EC) has given nearly 4.52 crore voters whose names were omitted from the draft electoral rolls in seven states another opportunity to seek re-inclusion, following questions raised by the Supreme Court over the procedure adopted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
The decision allows voters categorised as Absent, Shifted, Dead and Duplicate (ASDD) to submit their pre-filled enumeration forms, along with a statement explaining why they could not submit the forms earlier.
According to the EC, a total of 4,51,76,997 voters were deleted from the draft electoral rolls across Maharashtra, Telangana, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Haryana and Nagaland. The final electoral rolls for these states are yet to be published.
Maharashtra accounted for the highest number of deletions at 2.06 crore, followed by Telangana with 73.39 lakh, Delhi with 47.56 lakh, Andhra Pradesh with 44.89 lakh, Jharkhand with 43.61 lakh, Haryana with 33.83 lakh and Nagaland with 1.57 lakh.
Under the revised procedure, voters whose names were deleted but who continue to live at the same address can submit a pre-filled enumeration form along with a statement explaining why they could not submit the original form earlier. The documents can be submitted physically to the concerned election official by the voter or a family member. The EC has also provided for online submission through ECINET.
For voters who have shifted residence within the same state and whose names do not appear in the draft electoral roll, the EC has waived the requirement to submit Form 8. Instead, they can submit the enumeration form along with a statement mentioning their new address and Assembly constituency, supported by proof of address.
The Commission has also clarified that voters who have already submitted Form 6 for inclusion in the electoral rolls do not need to submit a fresh enumeration form and statement. Their applications will be processed under the existing procedure.
The latest decision follows a Supreme Court hearing on October 28 concerning the deletion of voters during the SIR exercise in Delhi.
While hearing a petition filed by Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri, the court questioned why the Election Commission was asking voters whose names had been deleted to use Form 6 to seek re-inclusion. It pointed out that Form 6 is meant for first-time enrolment, even though many of the affected voters had been on the electoral rolls earlier.
The court also suggested that voters who had shifted residence should be allowed to use Form 8, while those who could not submit their enumeration forms earlier should be given another opportunity to submit them.
Following the court's observations, Bhardwaj and Johri wrote to the Election Commission, urging it to implement the suggestions made during the hearing.
In its communication to the Chief Electoral Officers of the seven states, the EC also directed that booth-wise lists of ASDD voters and those whose enumeration forms were not returned be displayed again on polling station notice boards. The lists are also to be uploaded on the respective Chief Electoral Officers' websites in a readable PDF format.
The fresh opportunity is aimed at allowing eligible voters left out of the draft electoral rolls to explain their omission and seek inclusion before the publication of the final lists. (with inputs from media organisations)