Delhi Election Officials Listed as Objectors Against 25 Electors in Draft Roll
Electoral Registration Officers and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers in Delhi were named as objectors against 25 voters across localities including Sadar Bazar, Malviya Nagar, Chhattarpur, Kirari, and Vikaspuri between September 21 and 27. An analysis of Form 10 public reports revealed that these 25 entries were the only ones among 1,997 electors objected to via Form 7 during the seven-day period where the reason column was left blank.
The 25 cases comprise 12 objections in Sadar Bazar, three of which were submitted directly by EROs, along with seven in Malviya Nagar, four in Chhattarpur, and one each in Kirari and Vikaspuri. All 25 electors had previously been flagged for notices regarding either a logical discrepancy or no mapping in the draft electoral roll published on August 31.
Form 7 is typically used to request the deletion of an existing name or object to an inclusion due to death, duplicate enrolment, non-citizenship, absence, or permanent shifting. Under normal procedures, the burden of proof rests on the objector, who is required to be an elector registered in the same constituency.
Responding to queries about the filings, the EROs and AEROs cited factors such as deaths, Booth Level Officer field-verification reports, complaints from relatives, and failure of electors to appear for notice hearings. Mala Sood, an ERO from Sadar Bazar, stated that the filing is merely an objection and not an immediate deletion. She noted that no name would be removed without verification and that mandatory notices are reissued to electors, who are given 15 days to respond.
Officials in Malviya Nagar stated that the objections targeted ineligible voters following BLO field visits where electors were not found at their registered addresses. In Sadar Bazar, around 32 electors had earlier been marked ineligible out of 350 such cases across Delhi for missing hearings or failing to submit required documentation.
Former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa remarked that while the practice of EROs and AEROs submitting Form 7s was unheard of, utilizing the form to start an inquiry could serve as a technical requirement and would not be illegal if followed by due process. The Election Commission of India's Manual on Electoral Rolls 2023 and Special Intensive Revision guidelines empower EROs to initiate inquiries based on BLO reports, though they remain silent on officials filing Form 7s directly.
The claims and objections phase has recorded 4,401 objections seeking deletions and 1.76 lakh applications for inclusion since the publication of the draft roll. The deadline for filing claims and objections is October 30, with the final electoral roll scheduled for publication on December 4.
