West Bengal SIR: Name not in draft voters’ list? These are the documents you need to provide

Once the Election Commission publishes a draft electoral roll, those who have failed to establish a link with the 2002 voters’ list are likely to be called for a hearing.

After the draft electoral roll is published, voters who fail to link with the 2002 list are likely to be called for hearings. (Indian Express)

The first phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal has ended. The Election Commission of India (ECI) will now publish a draft electoral roll on December 16, following which those who have failed to establish a link with the 2002 voters’ list will be called for a hearing.

If your name is not on the draft voters’ list, you will be asked to provide documents to prove you are an Indian citizen and an eligible voter. Here are the 11 documents that will be accepted:

* Identity card as a state or central government employee or pension holder

* Documents provided by post office, bank, LIC or local authorities before 1987

* Birth certificate

* Passport

* Madhyamik or any other certificate of educational qualification

* Residential certificate given by any organisation under the state government

* Forest right certificate

* Caste certificate

* National Register of Citizens (only for Assam)

* Family register by local administration

* Land allotment or house allotment certificate given by the government.

Your Aadhaar card will not work as the sole identity document.

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What if your name is not in the draft electoral roll and you have not been called for any hearing?

According to the ECI, in such cases, you have to enrol your name in the voter list by filling Annexure-IV of Form 6.

If your name is in the 2002 SIR electoral roll, can you be called for a hearing?

According to the Election Commission, it is the Electoral Registration Officer’s discretion.

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If anybody produces fake documents, will the person be punished?

According to Section 337 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, anyone who forges documents can be jailed for up to seven years and fined.

According to Election Commission sources, each and every form will be analysed using their application software, and all information provided by the elector will be studied. Based on this, it will be decided whether the person will be called for a hearing or not.

Earlier, the Election Commission of India had fixed the number of hearings at 50 per day in an Assembly constituency. However, the EC is now considering increasing the number. A senior ECI official said, “We have to complete all hearings within a stipulated time. So, if necessary, we may have to increase the number of hearings even beyond one hundred.”

Atri Mitra

Atri Mitra is a Special Correspondent of The Indian Express with more than 20 years of experience in reporting from West Bengal, Bihar and the North-East. He has been covering administration and political news for more than ten years and has a keen interest in political development in West Bengal. Atri holds a Master degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University and Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University. He is also an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur. He started his career with leading vernacular daily the Anandabazar Patrika, and worked there for more than fifteen years. He worked as Bihar correspondent for more than three years for Anandabazar Patrika. He covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections. He also worked with News18-Bangla and covered the Bihar Lok Sabha election in 2019. ... Read More

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