Five FIRs have been registered across Karnataka over alleged attempts to delete voters from electoral rolls through bulk Form 7 applications during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR). These FIRs have been filed in the wake of strong objection to the use of Form 7 to allegedly disenfranchise Muslims on a mass scale.
The FIRs have been registered in Belagavi, Bidar and Mysuru districts following complaints alleging the use of false information, forged documents and applications submitted without the knowledge of voters. The cases have been filed under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to cheating, forgery, impersonation and criminal conspiracy.
Chief Electoral Officer for Karnataka V Anbu Kumar said in a press release that although 84,900 Form 7s had been received, the ECI had not taken anyone off the electoral rolls.
He also said ECI officials had been directed to take action against those who had “knowingly made false claims” while filing Form 6, Form 6A, Form 7, and Form 8, under Section 31 of the Representation of People’s Act after conducting inquiry under Rule 20 of the Registration of Electors Rules.
FIRs
In Belagavi, an FIR was registered at the Belagavi Market police station on September 30 against Karnataka BJP leader Ravi Patil and others on a complaint by Meersab Sanadi, a Booth Level Agent in the Belagavi North Assembly constituency.
The complaint alleges that Form 7 applications seeking deletion of 198 voters were prepared and submitted to Booth Level Officers as genuine documents issued by the Electoral Registration Officer.
Sanadi said he found his own name, along with the names of his brother, relatives and neighbours, among hundreds of applications at Veerabhadra Urdu Model School in Belagavi.
For at least 15 years, Sanadi has been the BLA at polling station 196, where he is also the chairman of the school.
BLOs at the polling stations told The Hindu that two men claiming to be from the Belagavi City Corporation brought bulk Form 7 applications seeking deletion of Muslim voters.
The names and other details of voters had already been filled in, while the names of the persons shown as objectors were either handwritten or left blank.
The men allegedly told the BLOs that the applications had to be signed and returned urgently. Some BLOs refused after recognising the voters named in the applications and knowing that they had been living in the area for years.
The men then allegedly called someone over the phone who claimed to be Electoral Registration Officer Udayakumar Basavantappa Talawar and instructed the BLOs to sign the forms.
Talawar told The Hindu that someone had falsely used his name and that he had not issued any such instruction.
Sanadi said he confronted the men after finding his own name among those sought to be deleted.
Some BLOs said they signed applications under pressure, while others said they tried to contact their supervisors and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers but could not reach them.
The men initially told Amaan Sait, son of Belagavi North MLA Asif Sait, that they were from the corporation, according to Sait. When questioned, they said they were from Dr Ravi Patil Hospital.
In Bidar, a complaint alleged that 3,244 voters, including the complainant Mohammed Ateeq Ahmed, were falsely shown as shifted or absent through Form 7 applications during the SIR process. The complaint alleged that the applications were submitted without authenticated documents from the affected voters and that signatures were forged. An FIR naming 32 people was registered on October 1.
In Mysuru, social worker Syed Hasarath Ulla alleged that Form 7 applications were submitted against him and members of his family claiming that they were not living at their registered address. He said they had been living there for several years. He also alleged that similar applications containing false information were filed against 28 other voters.
A case was registered at the Narasimharaja police station against Harish Kumar C, Raghavendra M and Anil Thomas, along with others, following the complaint.
Who can file an FIR?
Under the Representation of the People Act, electoral rolls fall within the jurisdiction of the Election Commission.
None of the five FIRs filed in connection with the Karnataka cases invokes the Representation of the People Act. Instead, the cases rely on provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to offences including cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy.
A senior government functionary told The Hindu that the FIRs could stand as long as electoral offences were not invoked, but that their legal validity could ultimately be tested in court.
Meanwhile, applications filed after the claims and objections period will be taken up only after the final electoral rolls are published on October 27.
The Election Commission is also examining complaints concerning the bulk filing of Form 7 applications as part of the SIR process. Form 7 is the prescribed application for objecting to the inclusion of a name or seeking deletion of a name from an existing electoral roll.
BJP protest
The Karnataka unit of the BJP has threatened to launch a protest against its workers who have been booked over the alleged misuse of Form 7.
Former chief minister BS Yediyurappa warned on Saturday, October 3, that the state BJP would launch a protest if the police proceeded against its workers. He led a delegation of senior party leaders to meet state police chief MA Saleem and submit a memorandum in this regard.