SIR notices to Amartya Sen, former Navy chief system-generated: ECI officials

Election Commission officials told HT that CEO offices in states and Union territories in phase two of the SIR exercise will implement facilitation measures on the lines of those adopted in West Bengal.

Election Commission of India’s (ECI) notices issued to several public figures, including former navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash (retd), Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, and Indian cricketer Mohammed Shami, under the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls are “system-generated” and triggered by data inputs in the enumeration forms, poll panel officials have said.

Officials said the notices were triggered by data inputs in the enumeration forms.

Election Commission officials told HT that CEO offices in states and Union territories in phase two of the SIR exercise will implement facilitation measures on the lines of those adopted in West Bengal. Officials said the exemption from personal appearance in SIR hearings will apply to electors who are temporarily outside their place of residence for studies, employment, official duty or medical treatment, including those staying abroad. The exemption will also apply to government employees, personnel of the armed forces, paramilitary forces and public sector undertakings, who may be represented by a family member carrying the required documents, the officials said.

Notices to prominent personalities have been reported despite the ECI manual on poll rolls directing electoral registration officers (EROs) to ensure that the names of MPs, MLAs, those holding public offices and eminent persons from various fields are included in draft electoral rolls and appropriately flagged to prevent wrongful deletion.

The SIR exercise, currently underway in 12 states and UTs, requires electors to be linked to the electoral roll last comprehensively updated in 2002. Where such linkage cannot be established through the elector’s own entry or that of a family member, the system categorises the entry as “unmapped” and generates a notice requiring further verification through documents or hearings.

A senior ECI official, requesting anonymity, said these notices were being generated due to logical discrepancies identified by the system. “When the system detects a discrepancy, it automatically generates a notice. After a notice is issued, CEO offices ensure that people of prominence, senior citizens, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable categories are facilitated. In many cases, Booth Level Officers are visiting residences and assisting electors in resolving discrepancies,” the official said.

In Goa, former navy chief Admiral Prakash (retd), 82, received a notice under SIR asking him to appear before election officials to establish his identity. Following media reports, the ERO for the 27-Cortalim assembly constituency issued a clarification on the notice.

According to the clarification, the BLO of Part No. 43 of the Cortalim assembly constituency collected the enumeration form submitted by Prakash during the SIR process. The form did not contain mandatory particulars relating to the previous SIR, including the elector’s name as per the 2002 roll, EPIC number, name of the relative, name and number of the assembly constituency, part number and serial number in the electoral roll.

“As all the fields pertaining to the last SIR were left blank, the system categorised the enumeration form under the ‘unmapped’ category,” Medora D’Costa, ERO for Cortalim, said, adding that the BLO application maps enumeration forms only when prescribed identification particulars are filled, enabling verification with the existing electoral roll.

Prakash reiterated that ECI needs to improve its procedures. “While I appreciate the outpouring of concern, my rank & service are not relevant & I am bound by EC rules like any other citizen. However, ECI needs to consider: (a) revising SIR form, to capture more info re ‘Occupation’ & ‘Location at last SIR’, etc,” he said in a post on X.

In West Bengal, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen was issued a hearing notice under the SIR process after his records were flagged for a discrepancy linked to age details in the 2002 electoral roll. Election officials said the notice was generated due to a mismatch in data linkage and that verification would be completed through a home visit.

Cricketer Mohammed Shami also received a notice after his records were flagged during the revision process. Officials said the notice was issued as part of verification where linkage to legacy electoral data was incomplete.

A senior EC official in Kolkata said: “Hearing notices have been sent to around 7 million voters who were either unmapped or had logical discrepancies in the enumeration forms... More notices were being generated and would be sent to voters soon.”

EC officials have said the SIR exercise is being conducted in phases and that names will not be removed from the electoral rolls without verification and due process before final publication.

(With inputs from Gerard de Souza in Panaji, Joydeep Thakur in Kolkata)