Activists Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri have asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to widen its November 6 relief for voters left out of the draft rolls and cover every voter on the Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate (ASDD) lists across the country, not just the seven states where the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is underway.
On November 6, the ECI wrote to the Chief Electoral Officers of Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana and Nagaland to facilitate the inclusion of such voters in the final rolls. Bhardwaj and Johri welcomed the November 6 directive. They said that not requiring Form 6 (meant for first-time voters), restoring old Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers, and accepting Booth Level Officer (BLO) field verification reports as residence proof for homeless voters were vital steps forward. An ECI official said they received Bhardwaj and Johri’s November 10 letter and will go through the demands. They are not required to use Form 6. Electors who already submitted Form 6 for fresh enrolment during the SIR need not submit the enumeration form again. The November 6 directive followed the Supreme Court’s October 28 observations in the Delhi SIR matter. The bench flagged the practice of making ASDD voters fill Form 6, which carries a first-time voter declaration, as an error. Johri and Bhardwaj flagged concern over voters who already filed Form 6 and added that the new ECI framework treats ASDD voters differently based on when they acted. Those who filed Form 6 before November 6 are processed as new voters with fresh EPIC numbers, while those who waited can now use the enumeration form and get their old numbers back. They argued that Form 6 filers should not be misclassified as new voters, and that the first-time voter declaration these voters signed will remain permanently on official records despite the ECI’s November 3 clarification.
Regarding extending the exercise to states other than those where SIR is ongoing, the commission has already cleared that SSR [Special Summary Revision] has been announced in those states. It ordered that booth-wise lists of ASDD electors whose enumeration forms were never received be displayed afresh at polling stations, panchayat bhawans and urban local body offices. “Whatever is feasible and important to facilitate ordinary voters will be implemented. Those who submit the form with the applicable statement will have their old EPIC number reassigned. The court called it a structural incongruity. The activists noted this is the structural incongruity the Supreme Court flagged.
Voters who missed the earlier deadline can now submit an enumeration form with a statement explaining the delay.
