Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) ordered legal action against officials responsible for errors in the electoral roll of Pilibhit Sadar Assembly constituency and directed their immediate removal from voter list duties, following a complaint that Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers were displaying details of other voters.
The action comes after the Congress alleged large-scale changes to the electoral roll in Pilibhit Sadar, claiming that 13,150 voters’ names were changed while their EPIC numbers remained unchanged. The party has also sought the Supreme Court’s intervention in the matter.
In a press release issued on Wednesday, the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Uttar Pradesh, said the complaint was investigated through the District Election Officer, Pilibhit. Subsequent checks confirmed that searching certain voters’ EPIC numbers online displayed details of other voters.
Taking a strict view of the discrepancies, the UP CEO’s office issued instructions to “immediately rectify such errors” and “forthwith remove the Electoral Registration Officer and VRC Operator of Assembly Constituency 127-Pilibhit from voter list duties.”
It also directed officials to initiate legal action against them under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The office has sought a clear report on the responsibilities of the constituency’s Assistant Electoral Registration Officers.
The District Election Officer, Pilibhit, has been directed to conduct a thorough review of voter lists across all Assembly constituencies in the district and submit a detailed report within two days.
The allegations
According to allegations levelled by the Congress, 13,150 names were changed in the assembly between July and September, after the final electoral roll was published on April 10, without Form 6 or Form 7 applications. The party further claimed that 804 living voters were deleted and 2,600 names of people who did not reside in the constituency were added.
Citing examples, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate alleged that names such as Rashid were changed to Abdul, Mohammad Yusuf to Hasrat, Mohammad Waseem to Sher Mohammad, and Mohammad Shadab to Salim Khan. She claimed that most of the altered names belonged to Muslim men and alleged that voter details were changed through software.
UP Congress in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam alleged a conspiracy that could influence electoral outcomes, while MP Imran Masood said the party would pursue the issue “on the streets, in Parliament and in courts.”
The final electoral roll in Uttar Pradesh was published on April 10 and contained 13.39 crore voters. More than 2.04 crore voters were removed, and over 84 lakh were added during the revision exercise.
The post-Special Intensive Revision (SIR) rolls have faced further scrutiny after social media users flagged alleged duplicate entries involving electors with multiple voter IDs. The UP CEO’s office has said officials are working on deduplication to remove such entries.
The statewide review ordered on Wednesday will now examine whether similar discrepancies between EPIC numbers and voter details exist in other constituencies across Uttar Pradesh.