New Delhi: Former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai and three members of her family have received notices from the Election Commission as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Delhi.
Desai, her husband Prakash Desai, their son and advocate Mike Desai, and daughter-in-law Sakshi Desai have been categorised as “unmapped with the Last SIR”, meaning their current electoral records could not be linked with corresponding entries from the previous revision.
What the SIR Notices Mean
The notices are part of the electoral-roll verification exercise and require the concerned electors to respond and provide supporting documents to the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO).
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The Election Commission has clarified that receiving a notice does not automatically mean that an elector’s name will be deleted from the electoral roll. The ERO is required to examine the response and documents before taking a decision.
Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ashok Kumar (IAS: 2006: AGMUT), said the notices are system-generated and are intended to address issues in electoral records.
“No name can be deleted without giving an opportunity of being heard and a proper, speaking and appealable order,” the CEO said.
Under the SIR exercise, electors have been classified based on whether their present records could be linked to the previous electoral roll or whether their details contained what authorities termed “logical discrepancies”.
Several Senior Officials Also Flagged
Desai’s family is among several prominent individuals whose names have appeared in the verification exercise.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister Ajay Kumar Sood, Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava, Fisheries Secretary Abhilaksh Likhi, Fertiliser Secretary Rajat Kumar Mishra and Land Resources Secretary Narendra Bhooshan are among officials listed as “unmapped with the Last SIR.”
Other officials have received notices over specific discrepancies. Expenditure Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam (IAS: 1992: Manipur), was among those flagged, while Comptroller and Auditor General K Sanjay Murthy received a notice citing a “parent name mismatch.”
The list also includes several other public figures, including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, CBI Director Praveen Sood and former Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi.
Over 31 Lakh Electors Receive Notices
The Delhi electoral authorities have issued notices to more than 31 lakh electors identified for verification. According to the latest figures reported by the Delhi CEO, 31,63,930 electors had received notices out of around 33 lakh identified for the exercise.
The notices cover both cases where current electoral records could not be mapped to the previous revision and cases involving discrepancies such as differences in names, dates of birth or family details.
The disposal of the notices is scheduled to be completed by October 29, while the final electoral roll is scheduled for publication on November 4.
The SIR involves verification of electoral records and provides electors an opportunity to submit documents and establish the required linkage or correct discrepancies before the final roll is published.
