Karnataka SIR: 91,278 Form-7 objections, no inquiry yet into bulk submissions
Karnataka's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) V. Anbu Kumar has said that no inquiry has been initiated so far by any Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) into the bulk filing of Form-7 applications — the form used to object to entries in the electoral rolls and seek deletion of names.
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls has seen cases reported from several parts of the State in which Form-7 forms were submitted in bulk, in a number of instances targeting Muslim and other minority voters, according to accounts from the constituencies concerned.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Mr. Anbu Kumar said, "In none of the cases has an inquiry been initiated by the Electoral Registration Officer." Directions have been issued to all EROs to act as per law against those who knowingly make false statements or declarations in writing while submitting such forms, and such action is to be preceded by an inquiry under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. The directions followed a protest lasting more than five hours by Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on October 1.
"So far, no such inquiry has been initiated, and it is left to the ERO to decide when to begin one, if an inquiry is needed. Once it is initiated, the timeline for a response is seven days," Mr. Kumar said.
Between June 16, when the electoral rolls were frozen ahead of the SIR, and October 4, the CEO's office received 91,278 Form-7 applications. The number stood at 61,130 as on September 24, rose to 84,990 by October 1, and reached 91,278 by October 4.
Asked whether the total included bulk applications submitted in constituencies such as Babaleshwar, Bhalki and Belagavi, the CEO said, "It may be included, while some may be rejected. We don't have those break-up figures."
He stressed that no voter has been deleted, and that no deletion would follow merely from the receipt of a Form-7 objection. "A notice will be delivered, and a hearing will be conducted, and only following this will the deletion happen, if need be," he said.
On whether submitting applications in bulk was valid, Mr. Kumar said the question needed to be "examined" and that it depended on the ERO concerned.
During the same period, as on October 4, the CEO's office received 9.10 lakh Form-6 applications for inclusion in the rolls and more than 11.98 lakh Form-8 applications for corrections to existing entries.
Election authorities have maintained that statutory safeguards — including prior notice and a personal hearing — protect voters against improper deletion. Minority organisations and civil society groups have, however, argued that large volumes of unverified objections place a heavy burden on voters who must appear to defend their entries.
Mr. Kumar said that, in line with recent instructions from the Election Commission of India (ECI), a special drive would be conducted after the SIR is completed to enrol eligible voters who may have been left out. Discussions in this regard have already been held with District Electoral Officers and political parties, he added.
