Karnataka’s chief electoral officer has directed electoral officers to approve Form-7 applications only in cases involving deaths and duplicate entries, and ordered legal action against applicants who knowingly submit false claims during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
The assurance followed a demonstration at the CEO’s office by Karnataka Congress legislators led by Chief Minister D K Shivakumar. The Congress had alleged that bulk Form-7 applications were being filed to remove eligible voters from electoral rolls across several constituencies.
Form 7 is used to file an objection to the proposed inclusion or deletion of a name in an existing electoral roll. According to Shivakumar, CEO V Anbukumar’s direction was communicated to every electoral officer after the Congress submitted its complaint.
For applications citing a voter’s death, a death certificate must be uploaded. In cases involving duplicate entries, the second Electoral Photo Identity Card number must be provided and recorded in the remarks of the Electoral Registration Officer, Shivakumar said while reading out the CEO’s endorsement.
The CEO has also directed the concerned Electoral Registration Officers to take action under the law against applicants who knowingly make false statements or declarations in writing under the Representation of the People Act. Shivakumar said this would be followed by an enquiry under Rule 20 of the Registration of Electoral Rules.
The police will separately investigate First Information Reports filed in connection with what the Congress described as fraudulent bulk submissions of Form 7. A memorandum submitted by Shivakumar to Anbukumar before the protest attached three FIRs filed on September 30 and October 1.
The dispute comes as Karnataka conducts a Special Intensive Revision that began on June 30, the first such exercise in the state in 24 years. The previous SIR was held in 2002. The current process has already introduced multiple stages of verification, including notices to voters whose details require examination.
According to figures cited by Shivakumar, 1.07 crore voters were deleted during the enumeration phase and notices for verification were served to 43 lakh voters in the draft roll. He also alleged that lakhs of additional Form-7 applications had been submitted to remove eligible voters. These figures and the allegation of fraudulent submissions were presented by the Congress during its campaign against the revision exercise.
The CEO’s instructions place the burden on election officials to attach documentary support to the two categories of deletion that have been specifically identified: death and duplicate registration. They also establish a legal and administrative response for applications found to contain knowingly false declarations.
The electoral roll revision will therefore proceed alongside two parallel processes: enquiries by election authorities under the electoral rules and police investigations linked to the FIRs filed by the Congress. The next formal step is the examination of the disputed applications and the action taken by the concerned Electoral Registration Officers.
