The Election Commission has clarified that notices sent to prominent figures and other marked electors during Delhi’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls are meant to correct documentation gaps and do not, by themselves, mean that a voter’s name has been removed or will be removed from the list.
The clarification followed public and media concern after notices were received by Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj, former deputy prime minister L.K. Advani and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. Former Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi and members of his family were also among those reported to have received notices.
The Election Commission and Delhi’s election authorities said the notices were automatically generated through the ECINET system to address deficiencies or inconsistencies in voter records. The authorities said a notice should not be interpreted as a final decision to delete a name from the electoral roll.
According to the clarification, an age-related discrepancy was identified in Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s form. The issue was corrected after the required documents were verified, and her name was accepted for inclusion in the final electoral roll. The verification of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s documents was also described as nearly complete.
The commission said no eligible voter would be removed without a proper opportunity to be heard and a written statutory order. It urged electors who received notices to submit the required documents to the relevant election officials or Booth Level Officers.
The notices have been issued as part of a large-scale revision exercise in Delhi. The draft electoral roll published on August 31 contained around 9.7 million voters. Of these, approximately 3.313 million records were identified for notices because they could not be matched with older electoral rolls or contained technical deficiencies. More than 3.1 million notices had been delivered by the time of the clarification.
The scale of the exercise means that the administrative process will affect voters well beyond the prominent names that triggered public attention. For ordinary electors, the immediate issue is whether they respond within the prescribed process and provide documents requested by election officials. The commission’s clarification is intended to distinguish a notice seeking correction or verification from a final deletion order.
The authorities have set October 29, 2026, as the deadline for completing the disposal of notices. Delhi’s final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on November 4, 2026. The commission said its stated objective is to prepare a transparent and inclusive voter list while ensuring that eligible citizens are not deprived of their right to vote.
