Click the Play button to listen to article

The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to entertain a plea challenging the Election Commission of India's requirement that certain voters affected by the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls submit declarations stating that they are applying for inclusion in the electoral roll for the first time.

Justice Amit Bansal said that the petition must be filed as a public interest litigation and asked the petitioners to file the same as a PIL. The plea was accordingly withdrawn.

The plea was filed by Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee President and former MLA Devender Yadav, along with DPCC Booth Management Committee Chairman Rajesh Kumar Garg.

The petition challenged Para (iii) of Form 6 and Para (ii) of the accompanying Declaration Form, insofar as they apply to electors whose names were previously included in electoral rolls but were deleted during the pre-SIR exercise or are being deleted during the ongoing SIR.

The petitioners contended that such electors are being compelled to make a declaration which is factually false, since their names had already existed in the electoral roll.

They thus sought directions to modify the forms so that affected electors can make a truthful declaration while seeking restoration of their names.

Form 6 requires an applicant to declare: “I am applying for inclusion in Electoral Roll for the first time and my name is not included in any Assembly Constituency/Parliamentary Constituency.”

As per the petitioners, the said this declaration is appropriate for a genuinely first-time elector, but not for a person whose name was earlier on the electoral roll and was subsequently deleted during the SIR-related exercise.

According to the petition, several electors did not receive enumeration forms during the SIR process. They were allegedly informed by Booth Level Officers that their names had been deleted during the pre-SIR exercise because they were absent or had shifted residence. Other electors whose names continued to exist in the frozen electoral roll were also allegedly informed that their names were being deleted for similar reasons.

“The Petitioners submit that such a declaration is patently false for previously-enrolled electors, is inconsistent with the Respondents' own Frequently Asked Questions on the subject, is ultra vires the Representation of the People Act, 1950 as well as the Constitution, and exposes bona fide electors to the risk of prosecution under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 for no fault of theirs,” the plea stated.

The plea sought quashing of the disputed portions of Form 6 and the accompanying Declaration Form insofar as they apply to previously enrolled electors affected by pre-SIR or SIR deletions.

It also sought directions to the ECI and Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi to suitably modify the forms to enable affected electors to make truthful declarations.

Additionally, a direction was sought that electors who have filed or file Form 6 following deletion of their names during pre-SIR/SIR should not be prosecuted under Section 31 merely on the basis of the declarations in their present form.

Title: DEVENDER YADAV & ANR v. ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA & ANR

Tags: