Explained: Can voters be deleted without consent? The law behind Rahul Gandhi’s allegation on Aland seat

What are the legal provisions for deletions from electoral rolls?

Electoral registration officers (EROs) of Parliamentary constituencies are empowered by Section 22 of the Representation of the People (RP) Act, 1950, to make corrections and deletions to the electoral roll either on their own or acting on applications made to them.

In each case, they must conduct an inquiry, give the elector concerned time to respond and then pass an order.

The ERO can delete an entry from the electoral roll in case the person has died, or is no longer ordinarily resident in that constituency, or has been found ineligible — meaning, they are not a citizen or are under the age of 18 years.

How can electors apply for deletion?

Under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, the forms for new applications, corrections and deletions from electoral rolls have been prescribed.

Form 7 is the one for making “objection for proposed inclusion/deletion of name in existing roll”. Electors can file a Form 7 if they want to delete their own name or if they want to object to any other elector in their constituency. The form can be downloaded from the ECI’s voter portal (voters.eci.gov.in) and handed to the booth level officer (BLO) concerned or submitted online. The ECINet app can also be used to submit forms online.

How is Form 7 filed online?

To submit Form 7 online, one has to first create an account and link their phone number to their electors photo identity card (EPIC) number on the voters’ portal or app.

Only those registered in the same constituency can submit a Form 7 seeking deletion of a name from a particular constituency.

Form 7 requires the applicant to provide their own name, EPIC number and phone number, as well as the name, EPIC number (if available) and address of the person against whom they are objecting.

The applicant has to select one of five reasons for objecting against an elector: “death”, “under age”, “absent/permanently shifted”, “already enrolled”, or “not Indian citizen”.

The form does not require any evidence. However, the applicant has to sign a declaration that says: “I HEREBY DECLARE that to the best of my knowledge and belief that I am aware that making a statement or declaration which is false and which I know or believe to be false or do not believe to be true, is punishable…”

Once the form is completed, it can be printed for offline submission to the BLO or submitted online.

How are the forms processed?

Since 2018, the ECI has had a centralised portal for EROs across the country, known as ERONet. Before that, states had their own applications for processing forms.

The ERONet portal standardised the process. However, each form is processed at the level of the ERO concerned and not centrally.

Earlier this year, the ECI launched a new version of this portal, combining about 40 of its existing apps and portals for voters and officers. Voters who log on to the voters’ portal or officers who access ERONet are all redirected to the new ECINet portal.

EROs and Assistant EROs receive the applications filed in their respective areas through the portal for further processing. For each form, the ERO is required to issue a notice to the elector against whom an objection has been filed, give seven days for response, hold a hearing and pass an order. BLOs are required to conduct field visits to verify as well.

Are there gaps in the online system?

The portal itself does not require any proof at the time of filing a form for deletion. There is also no verification of whether applicants’ EPICs and phone numbers actually belong to them.

It is possible to link someone else’s EPIC number with another person’s phone number and then file a Form 7. This is what appears to have happened in Karnataka’s Aland constituency. In fact, the ECI has also admitted the same.

However, ECI officials said the attempts to delete the names were caught when the ERO conducted an inquiry.

They also claim that safeguards are built into the system through the provisions of the RP Act and Registration of Electors Rules. While the form may be filed online, the deletion can only be carried out after a detailed inquiry by the ERO and the BLO on the ground.