The deadline for filing claims and objections related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Maharashtra has been extended to October 12, while the deadline for their disposal has been moved to November 10, the Election Commission announced on Saturday.
Changes to Voter Hearings Announced by Election Commission
The Election Commission announced significant changes regarding voter hearings during a meeting at Nirvachan Sadan attended by all three election commissioners. Voters who received notices during the Special Initiative for Registration (SIR) due to being unmapped or having logical discrepancies will no longer be required to attend a personal hearing before the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO).
Hearings will now occur only in exceptional cases as determined by the ERO, with a preference for conducting these sessions online. The Commission also stated that it will enhance facilities for online hearings.
Additionally, the Commission confirmed that the declaration attached to Form 6 for the SIR has been upheld by the Hon’ble Supreme Court. Outside the SIR period, forms will be processed according to the Registration of Electors Rules of 1960.
They objected to changes in the allocation of work, saying they had removed a layer of oversight over the IT backbone of the electoral rolls. The Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will instead visit their houses and collect necessary documents. Earlier reporting noted: The declaration attached to Form 6 would have to be filled out only during the SIR exercise, the ECI said, adding that the earlier format would be applicable otherwise for fresh voter registration.
The decision comes after a report by The Indian Express, based on internal documents and interviews, said election commissioners SS Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had separately written to cabinet secretary TV Somanathan. The Commission said SIR “has already been completed in 20 states/UTs including Bihar and West Bengal,” and instructed chief electoral officers, district election officers and EROs to “immediately launch a special drive for enrolment” of voters left out of the rolls. This includes “young/first-time voters,” under the process of continuous updation. Earlier reporting noted: Those electors who are “unmapped” or have been flagged for “logical discrepancy” will not be issued notices for hearings, the poll panel said. The documents will then be uploaded on the ECINet portal for the ERO to take a decision, according to the ECI.
Earlier reporting noted: Instead, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will visit the homes of such electors to collect the required documents.
