Amid SIR row, Karnataka CEO says 95 pc of notices delivered, 12.82 lakh hearings pending

Bengaluru: Amid the raging controversy over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer's office released its latest update on Friday, showing that 41,63,368 of the 43,82,296 notices generated across the state have been delivered, taking the overall delivery rate to 95 per cent.

According to the latest data, 2,18,928 notices are yet to be delivered. Of the notices delivered, hearings have been completed in 28,80,882 cases, while 12,82,486 hearings remain pending.

The last hearing under the notice process will be conducted on October 12, while October 22 is the last date for disposal of claims and objections.

The latest update comes amid political controversy over the SIR exercise, with the Congress raising concerns over voter deletions and the manner in which notices are being issued. The Election Commission has maintained that the revision process provides an opportunity for voters to establish their eligibility and submit the required documents.

As of September 25, Karnataka has 4,48,44,080 electors on the electoral roll, comprising 2,22,55,071 male, 2,25,86,136 female, and 2,873 transgender electors.

The CEO's office has also published district-wise details of notices and hearings.

Following requests from registered and recognised political parties, lists of persons who have been issued notices under the 'No Mapping' and 'Anomalies' categories have been published on the CEO's website.

The office has also made available Assembly constituency-wise details of claims and objections received from the public through Forms 9, 10, 11, 11A, and 11B.

Between June 16 and September 24, a total of 19,48,164 applications were received through Forms 6, 6A, 7 and 8. These include 7,70,988 Form 6 applications, 4,551 Form 6A applications, 61,130 Form 7 applications and 11,11,495 Form 8 applications.

Form 6 is used for inclusion of names in the electoral roll, while Form 7 is used to raise objections to proposed inclusion or seek deletion of a name from the existing electoral roll. The CEO's office said no objections to proposed inclusion had been received under the relevant category.

The office has also issued instructions allowing an adult family member of senior citizens, persons with disabilities, sick electors, and overseas electors to appear before the Electoral Registration Officer or Assistant Electoral Registration Officer on their behalf and submit the required documents or information for disposal of notices.

The SIR process is scheduled to proceed with the disposal of claims and objections until October 22, following which the final electoral roll is expected to be published as per the election authorities' schedule.

Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Thursday called for scrapping the ongoing SIR process of electoral rolls in the state, warning that genuine voters, especially from poor and disadvantaged sections, could be excluded.

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