PUNE: A total of 18,748 Form 7 applications seeking deletion of names from the draft electoral roll were filed in Maharashtra till October 8, four days before the October 12 deadline for claims and objections under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.The deletion requests account for just 0.02% of Maharashtra’s 7.72 crore electors. “Every objection would be verified before a decision is taken,” a senior election official said.The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Maharashtra had earlier alerted all collectors and commissioners to the possibility of large-scale filing of Form 7 applications. The same instructions were reiterated during an online meeting last week.Thane recorded the highest number of Form 7 applications at 1,361, while Washim recorded the fewest, at 125. Pune, which has around 62.1 lakh electors on the draft roll, recorded 425 deletion requests.These forms are part of the total 11,38,055 applications received by the Chief Electoral Officer’s office between August 31 and October 8. The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on November 16.Filing Form 7 does not automatically lead to the deletion of a name. The initial onus of proof in such cases lies with the objector under Para 6.4.2 of the Manual on Electoral Rolls, 2023, another election official said.Names in the draft electoral roll are prima facie considered valid, subject to the submission of necessary documents in cases involving anomalies and unmapped entries. Only an elector from the assembly constituency concerned can file Form 7 to object to the inclusion of a name or seek its deletion.“Decision on every Form 7 must be taken after properly verifying the name as per the provisions applicable to the SIR exercise. Under Rule 20 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, read with Rule 19, the electoral registration officer (ERO) must conduct an appropriate inquiry where required. The ERO can call the claimant, objector or the person whose name is challenged for a personal appearance and evidence on oath. The directions cover objections alleging that an elector is not an Indian citizen,” a senior election official said.“The Jharkhand episode brought safeguards around Form 7 into sharper focus. In Godda, officials had flagged bulk submissions and ordered an inquiry. A booth-level agent was arrested,” said an ERO from Pune city.In Karnataka’s Aland constituency, election officials found only 24 of the 6,018 online Form 7 applications to be genuine after verification.
