Karnataka SIR: 23,770 Form-7 Deletion Requests Filed After Objection Deadline

Fresh data from the office of Karnataka's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) show that at least 23,770 Form-7 applications seeking deletion of names from the electoral rolls were received between September 24 and October 1 — after the claims and objections period for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) had closed on September 23.

Form-7 is the statutory form used to seek the removal of a name from an electoral roll, on grounds such as death, permanent relocation or duplication. The SIR is a constituency-wise revision of the rolls being carried out by the Election Commission.

Applications received between June 16, when the rolls were frozen ahead of the SIR, and September 23 totalled 61,130. By October 1, that figure had risen to 84,990 — an increase of about 40%. A press release issued by the CEO's office on Friday cited 84,900 forms.

Only applications filed up to September 23 will be considered for the final electoral rolls, scheduled for publication on October 27. Forms received after that date will be taken up only after the SIR process is complete, officials said.

In its press release, the CEO's office said: "Out of the 84,900 Form-7 received, the number of forms received for objection to proposed inclusion is nil." In other words, the forms were filed to seek deletions rather than to object to the inclusion of new names.

District-level data show the same post-deadline trend. In Kodagu, applications rose from 696 until September 23 to 1,143 as of October 1. In Shivamogga, the number increased from 3,685 to 5,760 over the same period.

The Hindu reported that bulk filing continued after the objections period in constituencies such as Bhalki in Bidar district. The statutory Form-10 report shows that 1,131 applications were received in Bhalki between September 24 and 29, of which 1,123 were bulk submissions.

The new figures follow a protest by Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and other State Ministers at the Karnataka CEO's office, which lasted more than five hours. Afterwards, the CEO's office agreed to initiate legal action over what it described as false claims made in bulk Form-7 applications filed across the State. Pre-filled Form-7 applications were filed in bulk in Bhalki, Babaleshwar, Belagavi North, Kodagu and several other constituencies, with reports indicating that many of them largely targeted Muslim voters.

Asked about the numbers, Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer V. Anbu Kumar said the figures were "as per the dashboard data".

Separately, of the 43,82,306 notices issued during the SIR, only 39,169 remain undelivered. Hearings have been completed in 35,60,833 cases, while more than 7.82 lakh hearings are still pending. The last hearing is to be held on October 12, the CEO's office said.

The SIR process has drawn public attention over the volume of notices issued and the large number of deletion requests, which officials say are being examined individually in accordance with the rules.