Hyderabad: Countdown begins for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Hyderabad and other districts of Telangana as the exercise is set to begin on June 15.
Failing to get the name in the final voters list will not only result in losing voting rights but may also result in a citizenship probe by the concerned authorities.
Consequences of losing voting rights
On Wednesday, May 27, the Supreme Court not only upheld the decision of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to undertake SIR of electoral rolls but also directed that cases where names had been deleted from the electoral rolls on the ground of doubtful citizenship should be referred to the competent authority under the Citizenship Act, 1955, for adjudication.
The competent authority was directed to conclude the process before the next Vidhan Sabha or local body elections, whichever is earlier, after issuing notice and affording an opportunity of hearing to the concerned individuals.
“In the event the competent authority holds that such deleted individuals are citizens, their names shall be restored to the electoral rolls,” the CJI Kant-led Bench directed.
SIR in Hyderabad, other Telangana districts
The SIR in the state is scheduled to begin on June 15. However, the house-to-house visits by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will begin on June 25.
During the visits, which will continue till July 24, the voters who have not yet mapped with the 2002 SIR list can provide details to BLOs. The voters can map themselves with either themselves or their relatives in the 2002 SIR list.
For the sake of SIR, father, mother, maternal grandfather, maternal grandmother, paternal grandfather and paternal grandmother are the allowed relatives. Mapping with relatives other than these is invalid.
Those who could not map themselves need to submit ECI-listed documents to remain on the voters list.
Is mapping enough?
Those who mapped themselves with the 2002 SIR list need not submit any document. However, those whose mapping results in anomalies may need to prove the relationship.
In Phase II of SIR, which recently concluded in 12 states and Union Territories (UTs), the following voters were listed under logical discrepancies.
In case of mapping with parents:
Age gap between voters and parents less than 15 years
Age gap between voters and parents more than 50 years
In case of mapping with maternal/paternal grandparents:
Age gap between voters and maternal/paternal grandparents less than 40 years
More than six persons mapped with a single person listed in the 2002 SIR list.
In all of the above-listed discrepancies, the voters are most likely to get notices. However, in such cases, the voters just need to prove the relationship with the elector in the 2002 SIR list.
Also ReadVoter list freeze soon ahead of SIR in Hyderabad, Telangana districts
As per Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Navdeep Rinwa, to reply to logical discrepancy notices, the voters can submit any documents, not necessarily from the ECI-listed documents, to prove the relationship.
Those who are mapped with parents may be asked to provide any document of theirs mentioning both their name and their father’s/mother’s name.
In case of mapping with maternal grandparents, the electors may be asked to provide any document of theirs mentioning both their name and their mother’s name. Apart from it, such electors need to provide their mother’s document mentioning her name and her father’s/mother’s names.
In case of mapping with paternal grandparents, the electors may be asked to provide any document of theirs mentioning both their name and their father’s name. Apart from it, such electors need to provide their father’s document mentioning his name and his father’s/mother’s names.
As citizens in Hyderabad and other districts of Telangana can be asked to prove their relationship with the voters in the last SIR through documents in case of the above logical discrepancies, family mapping needs to be done carefully and only with the allowed relatives.
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