ECI gave no SOPs for auto-generated Form 7s - New Delhi - With thousands of names deleted from electoral rolls during phases 2 and 3 of special intensive revision (SIR) using auto-generated Form 7s digitally signed by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), it has now emerged that this exercise is being carried out by State poll authorities without Election Commission of India (ECI) issuing any written protocol or Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
Form 7 is official voter application form issued by ECI to object to proposed entry or request deletion of existing name from electoral rolls. While there is no provision for EROs or Assistant EROs to file Form 7 themselves under electoral rules, States such as Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal have witnessed poll officials using this route to omit names from rolls for unresolved logical discrepancies and in cases of voters found to be "unmapped".
According to several State electoral officials spoke with, ECI's software, ERONet, automatically generated these Form 7s when officials deleted voters during SIR hearings. Auto-generated forms came with officers' digital signatures. In Delhi for example, we saw in various reports earlier that EROs and AEROs were named as 'objectors' for many forms filed against electors in draft roll. All these electors had been flagged for notices over either 'logical discrepancy' or 'no mapping' in draft roll published on August 31. Reports said more than 87,000 names in Uttar Pradesh and more than 95,000 in Uttarakhand were deleted through this method.
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However, according to sources, there was no written communication or SOP which was shared with election authorities in States in this regard. ECI was yet to respond to official query in matter
Who can file Form 7? According to Manual on Electoral Rolls, 2024, there is no provision for ERO to file Form 7. ERO who is adjudicator in process can, however, delete a name found ineligible. Rules say that a Form 7 can be filed only by a person whose name is already included in the roll in which name objected to appears. In cases of death, Form 7 can come from family member, local elector or Booth Level Officer (BLO). Booth-level agents (BLAs) of recognised parties may file no more than 10 forms a day, and cross-verification by ERO or AERO required if BLA files more than 30 in revision period. Recently, ECI also brought in restrictions on number of such forms an individual can file following uproar over bulk filing of Form 7s in many States.
As far as powers of ERO concerned, they include receiving and screening form, maintaining lists of Form 7 applications in Form 10, and displaying them on or her office noticeboard. They must personally cross-verify deletions where same person is objector in more than five cases.
Though there is no general rule on auto-generating Form 7, term finds mention only under Photo Similar Entries (PSE) verification process in manual.
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Analytically, auto-generation blurs separation of powers - ERO is judge, but here also becomes objector via software, with digital signature auto-applied. That violates natural justice - no one can be judge in own cause. If 1.8 lakh deletions in two states happened this way, SIR's 13 crore flagged nationally need audit.
For voter, deletion without knowing who objected makes appeal impossible.
Tags: #Form7 #ECI #ERONet #ElectoralRolls #SIR #VoterDeletion #UttarPradesh #Uttarakhand #ERO #ElectionCommission