In a major relief to people whose names have been struck off of voter rolls due to an address change, the Delhi High Court has held that such persons can apply for re-inclusion through Form 6, dismissing concerns that doing so could expose them to legal action for making a false declaration.
The observation came during the hearing on a petition moved before a bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Aditi Choudhary. The court said the petitioners' concerns were misplaced, noting that the suggestion to submit Form 6 had come from the Election Commission of India (ECI)'s standing counsel on the instructions of the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO).
The High Court subsequently closed the writ proceedings, leaving it open to the petitioners to submit the form, which would be processed in accordance with the law.
The applicants had approached the High Court after their names were omitted from the draft rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Delhi.
They told the court that they had shifted from their previous addresses and, consequently, could not submit the enumeration forms during the revision process, resulting in the removal of their names from the voter lists.
The petitioners were apprehensive about submitting Form 6, which is ordinarily used for registration of new voters.
It requires applicants to make a declaration regarding their existing enrolment status.
Since the petitioners had been registered voters before the SIR exercise and had also cast their votes, they feared that applying through the form could expose them to allegations of furnishing false information.
Addressing the concern, the bench observed: "When the suggestion is coming from the learned standing counsel appearing for ECI, that too, as per the instructions of the Electoral Registration Officer, petitioner no.1’s apprehension that he would be accused of furnishing a false declaration is misplaced."
The question of whether voters whose names were deleted from electoral rolls after shifting residence should apply for re-inclusion through Form 6 or use Form 8 to update their existing enrolment details was also raised before the Supreme Court in petitions challenging the SIR process.
Poll officials in Delhi have begun reverification of more than 47 lakh voters whose names were removed from the draft rolls. This comes amid the ongoing protests by political parties and other outfits over the SIR exercise conducted in various parts of the country.
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(With inputs from PTI)