BENGALURU: The withdrawal or preliminary rejection of bulk Form 7 applications in Belagavi, Bidar and Vijayapura has prevented election officials from initiating inquiries that could have led to penal action against objectors for filing false declarations, officials told TOI.The issue has snowballed into a controversy, with Congress govt alleging attempts to delete genuine voters from electoral rolls through bulk objections. Govt has demanded scrutiny of the applications and action against those found guilty of violations.Under Section 31 of Representation of the People Act (RPA), making a false declaration in connection with electoral rolls is punishable with imprisonment of up to one year, a fine, or both. However, in the three districts, the applications were either not formally accepted, withdrawn or rejected at the preliminary stage, leaving officials without grounds to proceed against the applicants.Belagavi was the first district to report bulk applications seeking deletion of names. Deputy commissioner Mohammad Roshan said the submissions did not comply with EC protocols.“At first, the applicants handed over an envelope and we sent them an acknowledgement, reminding them that the applications had to be in the prescribed format. They submitted the forms to the ERO on Sept 23. However, the rules require them to be submitted to the booth-level officer (BLO) through the booth-level agent (BLA). Hence, the forms were not accepted. We did not have material evidence to file a complaint as Form 7s were returned to the applicants,” Roshan explained.Vijayapura DC Anandh said no notices were issued because the bulk applications were withdrawn. He added EC’s recent clarification on the number of Form 7 applications an individual could submit had provided much-needed clarity on bulk objections.In Bidar, DC Shilpa Sharma said the ERO had rejected the bulk applications at the preliminary stage.An official in the CEO’s office said ERO had the discretion to close an application or hear the case and close it.
