Around 95,000 voter names in Uttarakhand have been included in Form-7 after no one appeared for hearings on objections filed during the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision, or SIR. Electoral Registration Officers and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers cannot restore those names directly, even if a deletion is later found to be an error.
Affected voters will have to submit Form-6 again after the final electoral roll is published. Chief Electoral Officer Dr. B V R C Purushottam has said the fresh applications will provide another opportunity for eligible people to seek inclusion.
What the SIR figures show
A total of 1.73 lakh objections were received during the revision exercise. Officials rejected around 20,000 objections at the ERO-AERO level after finding them fraudulent, according to the available details.
No one attended hearings linked to 95,000 objections. Those cases were consequently moved into Form-7, the process used for deleting names from the electoral roll. The figures indicate the scale of names affected before the final list is issued, but the precise reasons for each deletion will become clearer later.
The disposal process is scheduled to continue until 28 September. The final electoral roll will be released on 3 October by Chief Electoral Officer Dr. B V R C Purushottam.
Fresh applications after the final roll
Officials have said that new Form-6 applications currently being submitted will be processed only after 3 October. This means voters whose names are missing from the final list will need to check the published roll and then apply again where necessary.
During the specified SIR period, about 1.25 lakh Form-6 applications were submitted across Uttarakhand by people seeking registration as new voters. Each applicant also submitted a declaration containing information about their vote in 2003.
Applications received within the prescribed period will be considered for inclusion in the final electoral roll. The chief electoral officer has urged everyone to verify their names once the final list becomes available.
Officials conduct statewide checks
Senior election officials carried out field inspections in several districts on Saturday under a super-checking exercise ordered by the chief electoral officer. The review covered Form-6, Form-7 and Form-8 records.
Joint Chief Electoral Officer Prakash Chandra Dumka and Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Kishan Singh Negi visited Haridwar. Assistant Chief Electoral Officer Masto Das inspected several assembly constituencies in Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital.
The inspections are intended to review the handling of applications and deletion-related records during the SIR process. The final roll will provide the official position on how many names were removed and the reasons recorded for those actions.
Conclusion
Voters whose names are deleted after the SIR process cannot have them restored directly by EROs or AEROs. They must check the final roll on 3 October and submit Form-6 again if their names are missing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Why were around 95,000 names placed in Form-7?
No one attended the hearings for the objections linked to these cases. The names were therefore included in Form-7 for deletion from the electoral roll.
Q. Can an ERO restore a name deleted during this process?
No. EROs and AEROs cannot add the name back at their own level, including when a deletion is later found to be an error.
Q. When will Uttarakhand’s final electoral roll be published?
Chief Electoral Officer Dr. B V R C Purushottam is scheduled to publish it on 3 October.
Q. What should a voter do if their name is missing from the final roll?
The voter should submit a fresh Form-6 application after checking the final electoral roll.
Q. When will newly submitted Form-6 applications be processed?
Applications being submitted now will be taken up after 3 October.
Q. How many objections were received during the SIR?
The revision process received 1.73 lakh objections. Around 20,000 were rejected after officials found them fraudulent.
