After Congress Form 7 protest, Karnataka EC’s legal action over false claims

Karnataka Congress leaders, led by CM DK Shivakumar, held a demonstration at the state chief electoral officer's office. (Photo: Special arrangement)

The Congress in Karnataka scored a late‑evening victory on Thursday as the state chief electoral officer (CEO) agreed to initiate legal proceedings against those responsible for filing bulk Form-7 applications aimed at deleting eligible voters during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The assurance came after Congress legislators led by Chief Minister D K Shivakumar held a demonstration at the CEO’s office. The Congress alleged that the Election Commission of India (ECI) had failed to act on complaints of fraudulent Form-7 submissions in many constituencies of the state.

Form 7 is used for making “objection for proposed inclusion/deletion of name in existing roll”.

CEO directs electoral registration officers to act

“Following our complaint, the CEO has sent a message to every electoral officer not to approve any Form-7 other than death and double entries. For death cases, uploading a death certificate is necessary. For double entries, details of the second EPIC number are compulsory and must be mentioned in the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) remarks,” Shivakumar said, reading out the CEO V Anbukumar’s endorsement.

Despite this assurance, Shivakumar said the protesters threatened not to leave the premises unless the ECI initiated action against the fraudulent submission of electoral rolls. “They have promised action against the applicants for false claims in Form-6, Form-6A and Form-7,” he said.

The CEO has directed the concerned EROs to take action under the law against any applicant who knowingly made a false statement and declaration in writing under the Representation of the People Act.

“This will be followed by an enquiry under Rule 20 of the Registration of Electoral Rules,” Shivakumar told reporters. As the ECI’s enquiry proceeds, the police will also investigate the FIRs they filed in connection with the fraudulent bulk submission of Form-7s, he added.

Story continues below this ad

Lakhs of names deleted: CM

A memorandum submitted by Shivakumar to Anbukumar prior to the protest attached the three FIRs filed on September 30 and October 1.

The Karnataka Congress’s campaign against SIR intensified on Thursday as Shivakumar held a news conference alleging “lakhs” of Form-7s were filed to delete eligible voters, besides the 1.07 crore voters deleted during the enumeration phase. Notices for verification have been served to 43 lakh voters in the draft roll.

The Karnataka SIR exercise began on June 30, 24 years after the last SIR was held in 2002.