New Delhi: Senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh has moved the Supreme Court, challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, seeking legal scrutiny of changes to Form-6 and an inquiry into alleged irregularities in the deletion of voters’ names. Singh said on Thursday that the apex court had admitted his writ petition, filed on October 12 under Article 32 of the Constitution.
He alleged that procedural irregularities in the revision process led to the deletion of more than 13 crore eligible voters. In his petition, Singh has challenged an additional declaration allegedly introduced in online Form-6, which is used to apply for inclusion in electoral rolls.
He has sought a declaration that the requirement is illegal and asked the court to summon records relating to its introduction and approval.
According to Singh, the additional declaration asks applicants whether their names, or those of their parents or grandparents, appeared in the previous SIR electoral roll.
He alleged that applicants could not submit the online form without providing this information and argued that the requirement was introduced without following the prescribed legal procedure.
According to Singh, the petition also seeks the disclosure of technical instructions, operational details and audit records of the Election Commission’s ECINET and ERO-NET systems, which are used for electoral roll management.
Singh has further alleged that voters’ names were deleted without proper inquiry on the basis of bulk objections submitted through Form-7, which is used to seek the deletion of names from electoral rolls.
He has sought a probe into the alleged exclusion of 97 voters in Goa despite their being found eligible and more than 16 lakh Form-7 appeals in West Bengal.
The Congress leader has requested time-bound relief for eligible voters affected by the revision and transparent safeguards governing Forms 6 and 7 and electronic electoral roll management.
Citing Article 326 of the Constitution, which provides for elections based on adult suffrage, Singh argued that the inclusion and deletion of names must follow the prescribed legal procedure, with the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) exercising the relevant authority.
In his statement, Singh accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of taking unilateral decisions without consulting the other two members of the three-member Election Commission.
“I am deeply hurt by the despicable and unconstitutional act committed by Chief Election Commissioner Shri Gyanesh Kumar by misusing the S.I.R. process to snatch away the voting rights of the country’s voters,” Singh said in a statement on Thursday.
He also alleged that the process was used to benefit the BJP, claiming that “names of more than 13 crore eligible voters were deleted from the voter lists to make BJP win. This is a grossly unconstitutional and undemocratic act.”
(IANS)
