EC extends Delhi SIR claims and objections deadline to October 30; final voter list on December 4

New Delhi: The Election Commission on Saturday extended the deadline for filing claims and objections under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Delhi by a month to October 30. The final electoral roll will now be published on December 4.

Under the revised schedule, the deadline for disposing of notices, claims and objections has also been extended by a month to November 30.

The claims and objections process began on August 31 and was earlier scheduled to close on September 30. The disposal of notices, claims and objections was to be completed by October 30, with the final electoral roll scheduled for publication on November 4.

The revised schedule follows a request from Delhi Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), who wrote to the Election Commission on September 23 seeking an extension of the SIR timeline for the national capital.

The extension comes as the claims and objections process is underway following the publication of the draft electoral rolls containing more than 97 lakh voters.

Notices have been issued to 33.13 lakh voters over discrepancies in the details provided in their enumeration forms. A large number of these cases involve details that could not be matched with the electoral roll prepared during the previous SIR in 2002.

Several prominent voters, including former deputy prime minister L K Advani, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Election Commissioner S S Sandhu, former vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, also received notices from the Delhi poll body.

Officials said the details of most of these voters have since been validated through field verification and their names have been reserved for inclusion in the final electoral roll.

The Delhi CEO's office had earlier clarified that receiving a notice does not mean that an elector's name will be deleted from the electoral roll.

Voters who receive notices can submit their replies and the required supporting documents before the concerned Electoral Registration Officer or Booth Level Officer.

Poll officials have maintained that no name can be deleted without following due process. This includes giving the concerned elector an opportunity to be heard and passing a proper speaking and appealable order.