NEW DELHI (The Thursday Times) — India’s Election Commission said on Tuesday that voters struck off the draft rolls can apply to be added back using Form 6, and will not face action merely for having been on an earlier roll, after many held back for fear of prosecution.
Form 6 requires applicants to declare that their name is being included for the first time. In a letter to the chief electoral officers of all states and territories, the commission said it had learned that some former voters were “hesitant” to file it, believing it “would amount to making a false declaration and render them liable for prosecution” under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act.
“No action under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, shall be initiated by an Electoral Registration Officer against an elector merely on the ground that the elector had been included in a previous electoral roll and has submitted Form 6 during the SIR process or afterwards,” the commission said, as long as the person is not already enrolled in another constituency. It cited an October ruling by the Delhi High Court.
A similar declaration has been on the form for years. India’s Supreme Court asked last week why voters struck off in Delhi must re-register as first-time voters, with lawyers for the petitioners saying people were being made to “fill up a false declaration”. The chief justice also told voters in a separate case: “Do not worry. Nobody will be prosecuted.”
The nationwide special intensive revision, or SIR, has removed well over 100 million names, according to media tallies, setting off weeks of protests and opposition demands for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The commission denies wrongdoing and says the exercise removes dead, duplicate and ineligible voters.
