New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued fresh guidelines placing tighter limits on applications seeking deletion of names from electoral rolls through Form 7.
The move comes as Special Intensive Revision (SIR) work is underway across the country. The ECI said unsubstantiated deletion complaints can harm genuine voters and add to the workload of election officials, and has circulated the instructions to Chief Electoral Officers of all states and Union Territories.
According to the guidelines sent by Deputy Secretary Sandeep Kumar, during the period when claims and objections for inclusion are received, an individual can submit Form 7 applications up to 10 times, with a maximum number of applications per submission. During routine electoral roll revision, only five such applications per month will be permitted. These limits apply to both online and in-person submissions.
The ECI reiterated that under the 1960 voter registration rules, only those already enrolled in the electoral roll of the concerned constituency can file Form 7. Every application must be scrutinised by the Electoral Registration Officer, carry complete details, and include the complainant’s original signature, with officials required to verify authenticity by matching particulars with the roll.
For SIR, political parties’ booth-level agents may submit up to 50 applications per day before the draft roll is published, and up to 10 per day thereafter. The ECI also directed that non-compliant applications be rejected within a stipulated time, that the complainant be examined in person before a final decision, and that criminal action be initiated under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 if a complaint is found to be false. Officials have been asked to implement the guidelines immediately and create public awareness.
