Pioneer in Short

Karnataka CEO Flags misuse of SIR Form 7

Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer V Anbukkumar on Thursday directed election officials to initiate action against applicants found to have knowingly made false statements or declarations in electoral forms, amid allegations of bulk filing of Form 7 applications to delete names of eligible voters. In a communication to district election officers and Electoral Registration Officers, Anbukkumar said his office had received information about bulk filing of Form 7 applications during the ongoing SIR and allegations that some forms were not genuine. He directed EROs to take action against applicants who knowingly made false statements in Form 6, 6A, 7 or 8. 

ONOE panel shelves meeting SC judges
A parliamentary panel examining the One Nation, One Election (ONOE) Bill has shelved its proposed October 6 visit to the Supreme Court for an interaction with judges on the legislation, committee chairman PP Chaudhary said on Thursday. Chaudhary said the visit was put off as the dates of committee members did not match. “I also have other commitments to attend to,” he said. The proposed interaction had drawn Opposition objections over separation of powers. At least one member of the joint committee had sought its cancellation, arguing that discussions with sitting judges on the constitutional validity or merits of legislation that could later come before the Supreme Court might create an institutional overlap. Senior advocate and MP Kapil Sibal had also called the proposed visit unconstitutional. 

Parliamentary panels have interacted with sitting Supreme Court judges in the past, including on e-courts, legal aid and judicial administration. Those meetings, however, did not concern the merits or constitutional validity of pending legislation. The joint committee is examining two bills introduced in December 2024 that seek to provide a framework for simultaneous Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections.