Meet the woman who found name missing from voter list in UP — and took the fight to court

A resident of Roshanpur village in Gautam Buddha Nagar district, Hemlata takes care of work at home and the farm while her husband Mahendra Kumar is a labourer.

Recollecting the election day, she said: “I was standing in line to vote like everybody else. But when my turn came, polling officers at the booth said (my name) is not in the records, it is deleted. It was very unusual. If I voted in the 2017 election, how can I now be disqualified from voting?”

Most people would have let it pass as a ‘sarkari’ mistake, but Hemlata did not keep quiet: “It was not just my name that was deleted from the voter list. But people do not speak, they are afraid of the consequences, but I thought I should fight this one.”

Initially, she complained at the police station concerned and then to the police commissionerate. When nothing happened, she moved the district’s SC/ST court. On November 23, 2022, Special Judge Jyotsna Singh ordered police to register an FIR against then sub-divisional magistrate (Sadar) and two tehsildars. Sixty days after the judgment, Dankaur police registered an FIR against Rajnikant, a former sub-divisional magistrate (Sadar); Vinay Kumar Bhadauria and Akhilesh Singh, the then tehsildars. Besides, 4-5 unidentified persons have been accused in the FIR.

The order states: “… The name of the applicant was deleted from voter list because of caste enmity and considering her as a person of lower caste… My fundamental right to vote was violated. Not only this, a forged certificate was presented to the election commission that there is no error in the electoral roll and no name is missing. On the other hand, there was a lot of irregularities in the electoral rolls and it was deliberately done.”

“According to the facts and circumstances of the application, prima facie, it is clear that the opposite party committed a cognizable offence, which should be investigated by the police. So, in the interest of justice, the application is allowed,” said the order.

The court had said a case must be registered within a week, but it was not complied with. Hemlata once again had to move court, complaining against the SHO and ACP concerned of the district and seeking implementation of the order.

Her lawyer, Raj Kumar, said: “Police submitted a report on January 12 citing ‘certain reasons’ for not following the order. The SC/ST Act 1989 itself says it is a crime if anyone forces or intimidates a member of a Scheduled Caste not to vote or to vote for a particular candidate or to vote in a manner other than that provided by law. Every district has to submit a certificate to the EC that there is no error in the electoral roll and no eligible name is deleted…”

He said a name can be deleted only if a person has died, changed their place of residence or if there is a duplicate name. It is also required to give 15 days’ notice before deleting any name from the list.

According to police, the matter is being investigated by the assistant commissioner of police-3 (Greater Noida). The FIR has been registered under IPC sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 166 (public servant disobeying law), and 167 (public servant framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury). Section 3 of the SC/ST Act, 1989, has also been added in the FIR.