SIR row: Karnataka CEO directs action against applicants filing false voter claims and objections

Bengaluru: After the protest led by Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Cabinet members at the office of the State Election Commission, Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer V. Anbukumar has directed Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) across the state to take action against applicants found to have knowingly made false declarations while filing claims and objections related to electoral rolls.

In a communication released on Thursday night, the Chief Electoral Officer said that instances of bulk filing of applications in Form 7 had come to the notice of EROs.

It was also alleged that some of these applications were not genuine.

The letter was addressed to the District Election Officer and Chief Commissioner of the Greater Bengaluru Authority, district election officers and deputy commissioners of all districts, additional district election officers and commissioners of Bengaluru's North, South and Central municipal corporations, the Additional District Election Officer and Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru Urban, and Electoral Registration Officers of all 224 Assembly constituencies.

The Chief Electoral Officer directed the concerned EROs to initiate action in accordance with the law against applicants who had knowingly made false written declarations in applications and forms, including Forms 6, 6A, 7 and 8.

The communication cited Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and Rule 20 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, saying that such action should be preceded by an inquiry.

The direction comes amid concerns over the filing of bulk applications seeking the deletion of names from electoral rolls during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Karnataka.

Form 7 is used for seeking the deletion of names from electoral rolls or raising objections to the inclusion of names.

The directive calls for scrutiny of suspected false declarations and action against applicants wherever violations are established through the prescribed inquiry.

It can be noted that Karnataka Chief Minister Shivakumar on Thursday evening staged a dharna on the premises of the Chief Electoral Officer's office in Bengaluru, demanding the registration of a criminal case and a probe into the alleged conspiracy to delete names of eligible voters using Form 7 applications.

Chief Minister Shivakumar, accompanied by several Cabinet members and legislators, visited the Chief Electoral Officer's office in Gandhinagar and submitted a memorandum seeking action in the matter.

He subsequently staged a protest on the steps of the Chief Electoral Officer's office and said the agitation would continue until a criminal case was registered and a serious investigation ordered.

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