The Election Commission of India has introduced new limits to prevent individuals from submitting Form 7 petitions in bulk to remove names from electoral rolls.
The move follows complaints that, during voter list revision drives, some people were filing large numbers of deletion requests without valid reasons or on incorrect grounds. Officials said such practices create avoidable hardship for field staff and the voters concerned.
Under the new guidelines, applicable to both online and offline submissions, a person can file a maximum of 10 forms during the claims and objections period. During the year-round continuous revision process, an individual will be allowed to submit only five forms per month.
The Commission also clarified that the applicant’s signature must be properly affixed, and signatures made using a seal or stamp will not be accepted. It said the electoral registration officer will decide on petitions only after due inquiry.
Warning of strict action against misuse, the Commission said that if anyone is found to have raised fake or incorrect objections with ulterior motives, legal proceedings can be initiated under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
