Hyderabad: Election Commission (EC) has capped Form-7 applications seeking deletion of names from electoral rolls at 10 per individual elector during the entire claims and objections period and five per month during continuous updation. The limits cover both online and offline submissions across states and Union Territories.
The Oct 9 instructions, circulated by chief electoral officer, Telangana , C Sudharsan Reddy on Oct 12, follow complaints that bulk objections on unsubstantiated grounds caused inconvenience to voters and increased election officials’ workload. Separate limits for party agents Under the Rule 13(2) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, an objector must be registered in the constituency concerned. Applications failing prescribed filing requirements must be rejected under Rule 17. For objections not disposed of under Rules 17 or 18, EROs must issue notice, personally hear the objector and record a separate statement for each application. Knowingly false or fabricated declarations require action under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
EROs must check complete particulars, verify applicants against electoral rolls and ensure original signatures; signature seals cannot substitute them. Affected voters must get a hearing before an order. Sudharsan Reddy directed district election authorities to circulate the instructions among registration and field officials for strict compliance and wide publicity.