Delhi SIR: Do you have EC notification? CEO says names will not be deleted automatically after Advani, Jaishankar among those marked | Today’s news
The Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi on Sunday clarified that receiving a notice during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls does not automatically mean that a voter’s name will be removed from the electoral roll.
This comes after former Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar were among prominent voters in Delhi included in the list of 33 lakh voters who were sent notices regarding “inconsistencies” in the information submitted during the SIR exercise.
The CEO’s office stressed that no voter can be struck off the electoral roll without being given an opportunity to state their case. He added that any such erasure must be subject to proper, express and appeal.
The clarification followed reports doing the rounds about notices being sent to prominent personalities and other voters as part of the SIR exercise in Delhi.
According to the office of the Director General, the draft voter list was compiled using the data submitted by the voters during the exercise through enumeration forms and given to the Booth Level Officers (BLOs). The proposal was published on August 31.
The voter list is available to the public through the website of the Delhi Chief Executive Officer, offices of Electoral Registration Officers (ERO) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AERO) as well as at designated polling booth locations, reports ANI.
The Election Commission of India launched the SIR in Delhi on May 14 and said the objective of the exercise was to ensure that “no eligible citizen is left out while no ineligible person is included in the electoral roll”.
According to the latest press release issued by the Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi, the voters included in the draft list were divided into two broad categories – those whose names or records of descendants could be linked to the electoral rolls from the previous intensive revision, and those for whom no such link could be established.
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Alerts are sent to voters whose records could not be linked to the voter list from the last intensive review, as well as those whose linked data contains “logical inconsistencies”.
The CEO’s office said the list of voters who have received notices has been uploaded on the websites of the Delhi CEO, district election officers and polling centres.
Clarifying the purpose of the notification, the authority said, “All the concerned parties are hereby informed that the issuance of the notification does not mean that their names will be deleted from the electoral rolls of NCT of Delhi.” He added that alerts generated by the system are meant to facilitate correction of data in ECINET.
No deletion without due process
The CEO’s office reiterated that “no name can be deleted without an opportunity to be heard and due representation and an appealable order.”
It also rejected reports suggesting the announcements had caused “no existential crisis”, saying “no existential crisis” had arisen from the announcements.
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Voters who receive the notice can submit their responses along with the required documents to the concerned ERO or Cabinet Level Officer (BLO).
The Delhi CEO’s office clarified that the list of documents prescribed by the Election Commission of India is “only indicative and not exhaustive”. It said that the ERO, as statutory bodies, will assess each case individually and make a final decision after considering the documents submitted and the report prepared by the BLO.
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The notification decision process is expected to be completed by October 29. The names of eligible voters affected by this exercise will subsequently be included in the final list of voters to be published on November 4.
Delhi received over 84,000 applications for Form 6 during SIR from 31 August to 19 September
The Delhi Chief Electoral Officer’s SIR daily bulletin said 84,263 Form 6 applications were filed in the national capital between August 31 and September 19. This was in addition to the 2,12,400 applications received till August 30.
Form 6 is used by citizens to request that their names be included in the electoral roll. Between August 31 and September 19, authorities also received 174 Form 6A applications, 1,396 Form 7 applications and 29,705 Form 8 applications.
The office of the CEO has urged residents to verify their names in the draft voter list and if missing, submit Form 6 along with the required declaration and supporting documents.
Those turning 18 on or before October 1, 2026 can also apply through Form 6. Form 8 can be submitted to change address or correct existing entries in the electoral roll.
Complaints and objections must be handled by October 29
Complaints and objections filed by September 30 will be processed by October 29, while the final voter list is expected to be released on November 4, according to the latest bulletin.
The Office of the Director General has also planned special camps on September 20 and 27 in all polling stations where citizens can access various polling services.
