Pune: Protect Voters’ Rights During SIR, Probe Election Commission’s Functioning, Says Samvidhan Jagar Abhiyan

Pune: The Samvidhan Jagar Abhiyan on Monday demanded greater transparency in Maharashtra’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and sought an inquiry into what it described as serious questions surrounding the decision-making and functioning of the Election Commission of India.

The organisation, comprising former judges, activists and social workers, held a press conference in Pune on Monday and said the SIR process must be transparent, impartial and accountable, with adequate safeguards to ensure that no eligible voter is excluded from the electoral roll.

Raising concerns over the first stage of the SIR exercise, the organisation said Maharashtra has around 9.78 crore voters, of whom approximately 2.07 crore voters have been categorised under “Uncollectable Enumeration Forms”. Of these, around 75.52 lakh have been listed as “Permanently Shifted”, while 76.80 lakh have been categorised as “Absent/Not Found”.

The group clarified that the figure of 2.07 crore should not be interpreted as the number of voters permanently deleted from the electoral roll. It said voters falling into these categories would be subject to verification and the prescribed claims-and-objections process.

Former Bombay High Court judge B.G. Kolse Patil said, “The SIR process must not become a means of depriving any eligible citizen of the constitutional right to vote. Before deleting a voter’s name, the Election Commission must ensure proper notice, verification, adequate opportunity to respond and a transparent claims-and-objections process.”

The organisation said a person could be categorised as “Absent/Not Found” for several reasons, including employment, education, travel or a change of residence, and therefore such categorisation should not automatically result in deletion of a voter’s name.

Alka Joshi, a working member of the Samvidhan Jagar Abhiyan, said, “There is a need to create awareness among citizens about the SIR process and the difficulties they may face during verification. Every eligible voter must be given a fair opportunity to establish their eligibility and raise objections before any decision is taken to remove their name from the electoral roll.”

The organisation also referred to a The Indian Express investigative report published on September 23, which, according to the group, raised questions over objections reportedly recorded by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi on several issues concerning the poll panel’s functioning.

The issues cited included changes in Form 6, deletion of voters’ names, monitoring of electoral rolls, centralisation of electoral-roll databases and the role of information technology systems in limiting the authority of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs).

The group also cited the case of 97 voters in Goa, where ERO officials reportedly found that they did not have the facility to record their decisions in the relevant software. It said this raised concerns that the names of such voters could consequently be left out of the final electoral roll.

“The Election Commission must function with complete transparency and accountability. Questions have been raised about its decision-making process, and these concerns should be independently examined in the interest of public confidence in the electoral system,” Kolse Patil said.

Four key demands

The Samvidhan Jagar Abhiyan demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, citing concerns over the functioning and decision-making of the Election Commission. It also sought an independent inquiry into the allegations raised against the poll panel and action if any violation of law is established.

The group further demanded repeal of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, and called for a mechanism that would ensure the independence, impartiality and accountability of the Election Commission.

It also demanded that the ongoing SIR process in Maharashtra be withdrawn and replaced with a transparent voter-list verification process.

The organisation said voters whose names are proposed for deletion must be given prior notice, physical verification, sufficient time, an accessible claims-and-objections mechanism and an opportunity to appeal.

“A voter should not lose the right to vote merely because he or she was not available at a particular time or because of a technical or procedural issue. The process must ensure that every eligible citizen gets an opportunity to prove their eligibility,” Joshi said.