Telangana High Court Directs ECI to Reconsider Urdu Voter Forms in Key Districts

The Telangana High Court on Monday asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to consider a request to provide enumeration forms in Urdu during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The directive applies to constituencies where 20% or more of the population is conversant in Urdu.

Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy, hearing the case, observed that courts generally do not interfere with ECI decisions. However, he sought information from the ECI counsel on how similar requests were handled in Assam, Bihar, and West Bengal. The petition was filed by a social worker from Karimnagar district, questioning the exclusive use of Telugu in enumeration forms.

During the previous hearing, ECI counsel Avinash Desai had sought time to gather instructions. On Monday, he informed the court that forms in Telangana are printed in Telugu, the state's official language, while English forms are provided in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area. He added that in an earlier meeting, the Chief Electoral Officer of Telangana had decided to print forms in English for Hyderabad district for voter convenience. Booth Level Officers were also directed to carry five to ten dummy Urdu forms for Urdu-speaking voters.

Senior counsel V. Raghunath, representing the petitioner, argued that providing dummy forms on request violates constitutional provisions. The ECI counsel contended that printing forms in three languages would burden the state exchequer. The petitioner's counsel countered that electors have a right to receive forms in their language.

The court adjourned the matter for a week, awaiting further hearing.