3.83 Lakh Karnataka Voters Face Electoral Roll Deletion Without Hearings

More than 3.83 lakh voters in Karnataka classified under the "Others" category face the risk of being deleted from the electoral roll without being granted an assured hearing, according to guidelines from the Election Commission of India.

Unlike electors flagged for logical discrepancies or marked as unmapped, who receive an assured opportunity to attend a hearing, guidelines allow the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) or Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) to either conduct a hearing or directly mark "Others" voters as "Found OK" or "Found Not Eligible".

The Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer’s booklet on post draft roll publication activities states that an ERO or AERO is permitted to mark an elector classified as "Others" directly as eligible or not eligible, or schedule a hearing at their discretion. However, the guidelines do not specify the grounds required to directly declare an elector ineligible, nor do they define the criteria required to establish eligibility.

Even when hearings are scheduled, officers retain wide discretion over the process. Under the guidelines, the officer must verify voter documents, requiring an extract of the last SIR for a self case or proof of relationship for a progeny case. These documents are submitted to the District Election Officer (DEO). If the DEO flags discrepancies or missing data, the case returns to the ERO or AERO, who can either upload further documents or mark the voter "Found Not Eligible".

Officers are not mandated to ask voters for additional documents before rejecting a case. Under the option titled "Found Not Eligible/Documents Inadmissible/Not Appropriate for Notice Issued", the officer can upload the hearing order and reject the voter without providing an opportunity to rectify missing records.

The exact definition of the "Others" category remains unspecified following the enumeration phase. The CEO’s office stated that the group consists mostly of electors who refused to sign enumeration forms. The number of voters in the category previously dropped by 1.05 lakh when the ASDDO list was published between August 4 and August 17, without an explanation regarding whether they were reclassified or signed forms.

The overall number of notices is expected to rise, as guidelines grant officers full powers to issue notices under the "Others" classification even to mapped voters who have no logical discrepancies.