'Notices do not mean name deletion': EC clarifies after Kejriwal, Jaishankar, Advani get SIR letters

The Election Commission (EC) on Sunday said that notices issued to some voters during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls should not be interpreted as an indication that their names will be removed from the voter list.

The clarification came after several prominent political figures were issued notices during the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in Delhi. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and her predecessor Arvind Kejriwal were among the 3.31 million electors who received notices over discrepancies in their details, according to election officials. The CEO’s office later clarified that Gupta’s name had been validated after verification.

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BJP veteran LK Advani, former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and BJP MLA Kailash Gahlot were also among those issued notices over “discrepancies” identified during the SIR, officials said.

Other prominent names on the list include External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, former vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar and Election Commissioner SS Sandhu. They were issued notices over discrepancies in the details furnished during the electoral roll revision exercise.

The CEO office, however, stressed that no elector's name can be deleted without providing an opportunity to be heard and issuing a proper, speaking and appealable order.

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"All stakeholders are hereby informed that the issue of Notice does not mean that their names will be deleted from the electoral rolls of NCT of Delhi," the CEO office said, adding that system-generated notices are being issued to correct data in ECINET.

"No name can be deleted without giving an opportunity of being heard and a proper speaking and appealable order," it said.

The office also said there was "no existential crisis" arising from the notices, as reported in social and print media.

Why notices are being issued during Delhi SIR

The draft electoral roll was prepared using details submitted by electors through Enumeration Forms to Booth Level Officers (BLOs). It was published on August 31 and is available on the CEO Delhi website, at Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) offices, and at designated polling station locations.

The Election Commission of India announced the SIR in Delhi on May 14 with the objective of ensuring that "No eligible citizen is left out while no ineligible person is included in the Electoral Roll."

As part of the exercise, electors listed in the draft roll have been divided into categories based on whether they or their progeny entries could be mapped or linked with electoral rolls from the last intensive revision.

Notices are being sent to electors whose entries could not be linked with the electoral roll of the last intensive revision, as well as those where "logical discrepancies" were found in the linking process.

Electors can submit documents in response

Those who receive notices can submit their replies and required documents to the concerned ERO or BLO. The CEO office said the list of documents prescribed by the ECI is "only indicative, not exhaustive".

EROs, as statutory authorities, will take decisions on individual cases after considering the documents available and the report submitted by the BLO.

The process of disposing of the notices is scheduled to be completed by October 29. The names of such electors will then be included in the final electoral roll, which is scheduled to be published on November 4.