Raghav Chadha out of Punjab draft roll: How does SIR delete a name, and how can it be restored

For that, Booth Level Officers are to go house-to-house to distribute enumeration forms, which are pre-filled with the electors’ name, EPIC number, booth etc. All those who fill the forms in the designated one-month enumeration phase will be included in the draft roll.

The EC’s guidelines for the third phase of the SIR that was announced on May 14 in 16 states (including Punjab) and three Union Territories said: “For electors whose enumeration forms have not returned, BLO may identify a probable cause, such as Absent/Shifted/Death/Duplicate, based on an inquiry from the nearby electors and note the same.”

These names are then excluded from the draft roll, though the EC guidelines say that anyone aggrieved by the deletion can submit a voter registration form (Form 6) in the one-month claims and objections period that follows the draft roll. Those found eligible can be added back to the rolls in the final roll. 

In the case of Chadha, the ASDD list published by the Punjab Chief Electoral Officer shows him marked as “permanently shifted” from the booth in SAS Nagar that he was enrolled in. 

Chadha has alleged that his name was deleted due to “vendetta” by the Aam Aadmi Party-ruled Punjab government. He had left the AAP and joined the BJP in April this year. 

The Punjab government denied the charge, saying that the entire process of the SIR is carried out by the EC. AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said on Thursday that Chadha lived in Delhi, not Punjab. 

“If Raghav Chadha does not live in Punjab, his vote should be deleted from there,” he said. 

What SIR guidelines say about restoring a name

The SIR process provides an opportunity for those incorrectly deleted in the draft to get back to the rolls by filling a Form 6, which is the EC’s statutory form for electoral registration. 

In the case of Punjab, those deleted have from August 13 to September 12 to file forms in order to be eligible to be included in the final roll that is scheduled to be published on October 12. Chadha has said that he is in the process of availing of the remedies available to him in the SIR. 

The Form 6 requires the applicant to provide documentary proof of residence and date of birth, as well as sign a declaration that they are an Indian citizen. According to the EC’s SIR guidelines, all new Form 6 applications during the SIR have to be accompanied by a “declaration form”. 

The declaration requires the applicant to provide documents from a list of 12, including passport, birth certificate and educational certificates, for themselves and their parents (for those born after July 1, 1987).

Citing the EC’s SIR guidelines, Chadha has argued that his name should not have been deleted at all, saying that the guidelines make it clear that MPs should be included in the draft roll. 

“All names of members of judiciary, public representatives, holders of declared offices and personalities from fields of arts, culture, journalism, sports, and public services etc. earlier flagged in the electoral database, are to be included in the draft Electoral Rolls, so that necessary documents can also be collected during the period of Claims and Objections,” the EC’s June 24, 2025 SIR guidelines say.

According to Section 3 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, to be eligible to be a member of the Rajya Sabha, a candidate must be registered as an elector in any parliamentary constituency in the country.

In his affidavit for the 2022 Rajya Sabha elections, Chadha had declared that he was registered to vote in Booth Number 52 in Rajinder Nagar, Delhi.

However, after he entered Rajya Sabha as an MP from Punjab, Chadha shifted his electoral registration to that state — he voted in a booth in Punjab’s SAS Nagar, or Mohali, in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on June 1, 2024.