Election Commission to Bombay High Court: Non-appearance of name in draft SIR does not mean ‘deletion’

The Bombay High Court at Goa reserved its verdict in a petition involving Paresh Salgaoncar and five family members. They had moved to a new house within the same Santa Cruz Assembly constituency. Their names did not appear in the draft electoral roll prepared during the Special Intensive Revision, or SIR.

The petitioners said a booth-level officer instructed them to submit Form 8 to change their address. They said the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer later informed them that their EPICs had been deleted, so the Form 8 applications could not be processed. The family argued that this left them without a way to shift their existing entries.

The Election Commission offered a different explanation. It said the SIR creates a new roll from the ground up, so absence from the draft means non-inclusion, not deletion. The division bench questioned why Form 8 was unavailable during the SIR process, and reserved its decision.

A Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, is an extraordinary process for preparing an electoral roll afresh. The Election Commission described it as a comprehensive, de novo revision under Rule 25(2) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. Its purpose is to rebuild the roll from the ground up rather than automatically carry forward every existing entry.

During an SIR, Booth Level Officers visit every household and collect enumeration forms. These forms are usually pre-filled with information from the existing roll. However, the old roll serves only as a reference. A name enters the new draft only when the elector’s enumeration form has been submitted.

This distinction matters because an earlier entry does not automatically secure a place in the new draft. Anyone missing from it must follow the claims process and submit Form 6 with the required declaration and supporting documents. The final roll is published after claims and objections are decided.

The dispute affected six members of one family: Paresh Salgaoncar and five relatives. They had moved to a new house at least eight years earlier, but remained within the same Santa Cruz Assembly constituency. Their names were connected to addresses shown in the original pre-SIR electoral rolls.

A Booth Level Officer instructed the family to submit Form 8, which is used to shift an existing electoral entry or correct its details. The petitioners submitted the applications for their address change. They later said the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer informed them that their EPICs had been deleted from the rolls.

Because the entries were said to be absent, the Form 8 applications could not be processed. The petitioners said the only available route was Form 6, the application used for new voters, because ERONET offered no option to review or restore the deleted EPICs. The Election Commission called the situation non-inclusion in a freshly prepared roll.

The Election Commission drew a sharp distinction between the two revision methods. A Special Summary Revision, or SSR, is a routine exercise that updates an existing active electoral roll. Existing entries remain the foundation and can be corrected or changed through the usual processes.

A Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, is more extensive. Under Rule 25(2) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, an intensively revised roll must be prepared afresh. Booth Level Officers collect enumeration forms from households, while the existing roll is used only as a reference base.

This means an SIR does not automatically carry forward everyone listed previously. The draft contains only people who have been enumerated. Someone missing from that draft must file Form 6 during the claims and objections period, with the prescribed declaration and supporting documents. The final roll follows after those claims and objections are decided.

The Election Commission’s argument rests on how an SIR is structured. It says the process prepares the electoral roll afresh, rather than revising an existing final roll. Therefore, there is no continuing roll from which a name can technically be deleted while the draft SIR is being prepared.

The existing roll is used only as a reference for household enumeration. Booth Level Officers collect forms, and a person enters the draft only when an enumeration form is submitted. If that form is missing or not counted, the person’s name will not appear in the draft, even if it appeared in an earlier roll.

The EC therefore calls the situation non-inclusion, not deletion. It says the draft remains open to suggestions and objections, followed by due process. A person omitted from it must seek inclusion through Form 6 and provide the required declaration and supporting documents before the final roll is published.

The Election Commission says a person absent from the draft SIR has no standing entry to rely on. Because the roll is prepared afresh, the fact that the person appeared on an earlier roll does not automatically secure a place in the new one.

That person must file Form 6 during the claims and objections period. The application must include the prescribed declaration and supporting documents. The final electoral roll is published only after such claims and objections have been considered and decided.

If the person does not submit Form 6, the name remains outside the final roll under the process described by the EC. The person is effectively treated as a new applicant for that roll. This is why the petitioners objected to having only Form 6 available after their Form 8 applications could not be processed.

An electoral roll is the official list of people registered as electors for a particular electoral area. It records who is included in the voting process. The article discusses how these lists are prepared, revised, and finalised through SSR and SIR procedures.

Appearing on the relevant final roll is essential because election officials use that list to determine whether a person is registered to vote in the constituency. The article’s dispute shows the practical consequence of non-inclusion: the family’s earlier entries did not, according to the EC, automatically carry into the new draft SIR.

The article does not separately explain every voting rule, but established election practice requires a person’s name to be on the applicable electoral roll to vote. Under the EC’s position, anyone missing from the draft must apply through Form 6 during the claims period. If they do not, they risk remaining absent from the final roll.