Delhi voter roll SIR: S Jaishankar, Praveen Sood, Upendra Dwivedi, LK Advani’s daughter receive notices

New Delhi: Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his wife, Kyoko S Jaishankar, are among several prominent names who have received notices from the Election Commission as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Delhi.

The couple's names have been placed in the ‘unmapped with last SIR’ category. They are registered as voters in the Sunder Bagh electoral part of the New Delhi Assembly constituency.

The category refers to cases where an elector's present voter record could not be linked with the electoral roll from the previous revision.

In Delhi, the exercise is being carried out with reference to the earlier revision records, including those from 2002.

Other prominent individuals and family members have also received notices during the verification process.

CBI Director Praveen Sood, his wife Vanita Sood and his mother Kamlesh Sood have been issued notices under the same ‘unmapped with last SIR’ category.

Former Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi and his wife, Sunita Dwivedi, have also received notices under the category. Like the Jaishankar couple, they are registered as voters in the New Delhi Assembly constituency.

The notices issued to the family of CPM MP John Britas involve different discrepancies.

His wife, Sheba Britas, has been flagged over a ‘self-name mismatch’, while their son, Anand Britas, has received a notice citing a ‘parent-name mismatch’.

The discrepancy in Anand's record may be linked to the issue identified in his mother's electoral entry.

Sheba and Anand are also registered voters in the New Delhi Assembly constituency.

The list of voters served notices also includes former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and members of his family, while Pratibha Advani, daughter of veteran BJP leader LK Advani, has also figured in the exercise.

What does an SIR notice mean?

An SIR notice is part of the electoral roll verification process and does not, by itself, establish that a voter has committed any wrongdoing.

Voters receiving such notices are required to respond to the concerned Electoral Registration Officer and provide documents or information needed to establish or correct their electoral details.

The Delhi Election Commission has said notices are being sent to voters whose current records could not be linked to the previous revision roll, as well as those whose records showed logical discrepancies during the mapping process.

The scale of the exercise is considerable. The Delhi Election Commission has issued notices to around 31.63 lakh electors over discrepancies identified during the SIR process.

The verification process has also involved several other prominent public figures. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal are among those whose electoral records have been flagged during the exercise. The Election Commission subsequently said Gupta's entry was verified after she submitted the required documents.

For voters who receive notices, the next step is to submit their response and supporting documents to the relevant Electoral Registration Officer during the claims and objections process. The disposal of the notices is scheduled to be completed by October 29, according to the Delhi ERO's clarification.